


Mass Effect - The reason we fight for

by storylover90



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-11
Updated: 2016-03-21
Packaged: 2018-05-13 07:00:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 45,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5699272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storylover90/pseuds/storylover90
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John and Miranda known each other during childhood. But they got separated. He joined Alliance and she joined Cerberus. Will they ever find each other and if they do, will things work out again as situations are changed?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A distress call

**Author's Note:**

> 1) This story will be a little A/U but not entirely. Shepard and Miranda known each other from childhood. Miranda escaped from her father and Shepard found her and brought her in his home when he was 11 and Miranda 10  
> 2) My story will begin from Mass Effect 1.  
> 3) Pairings: Shepard/Miranda.  
> 4) No detailed sex scenes (Can’t write this).  
> 5) Shepard in this story is Soldier + Adept but not exactly a Vanguard.  
> 6) John’s surname wasn’t Shepard before he joined Alliance and his appearance changed after he joins Alliance. So Miranda couldn’t recognize him when she saw him in extranet.  
> 7) If there is any kind of mistake, let me know  
> 8) I need a beta reader. If anyone is interested you can message me here or in fanfiction => https://www.fanfiction.net/u/5901502/  
> 9) And of course please review to let me know whether especially the MShep/Miri fans like this story or not.  
> So Enjoy! (If you like this ^_^)  
> https://40.media.tumblr.com/5a078fb60e087becdcb2b18415d7cf54/tumblr_o0tvdeGNou1uf2sh7o1_540.jpg

John Shepard was standing inside the prototype vessel, Normandy SSR – I, looking out in the dark space through the window. He practically wasn’t observing anything, he was just standing there staring at the dark space deep in his thoughts. The words of his superiors - Captain Anderson, Admiral Hackett and Human Ambassador Udina was still ringing in his ears.

“ _Well, what about Shepard? He grew up in the colonies.” Said Udina._

_“He knows how tough life can be out there. He lost someone very close to him there when slavers attacked Mindoir.” Said Anderson._

_“He proved himself during the Blitz. Held off enemy forces until reinforcements arrived.” Said Hackett._

_“He is the only reason Elysium is still standing.” Said Anderson._

_“We can’t question his courage.” Said Udina._

_“Humanity needs a hero and Shepard’s the best we’ve got.” Said Anderson with pride in his voice._

_“I’ll make the call.” Said Udina._

 

He still don’t know what to make of that conversation but of course he understand what they want him to be. _A Spectre._ He really didn’t needed this, he is fine working under Captain Anderson as his XO of Normandy. But he will accept the Spectre status for humanity’s sake and of course for _her._ He know that she would have been happy for him if he became a Spectre. The Spectres represent the Council’s power and authority. They work directly for the Citadel Council. They usually work alone or in small groups. They don’t have official power, though. They are a shadow organization with a mendate to preserve and protect galactic stability. Protect it at any cost. Spectres operates above the law. Then Joker’s voice broke his thoughts.

“The Arcturus Prime relay in range. Initiating transmission sequence.” Shepard heard the voice of Jeff Moreau commonly known as Joker, the pilot of the Normandy in the comm. He got salutes and nods from Corporal Jenkins, Navigator Pressly and other marines in the Command Deck as he was walking towards the bridge to talk with Joker and Major Kaidan Alenko. “We are connected. Calculating transmit mass and destination. The relay is hot. Acquiring approach vector. All stations secure for transmit. The board is green. Approach run has begun. Hitting the relay in 3, 2, 1……” Joker still talking in comm. Shepard was standing behind Joker’s seat and watching the process of jumping mass relays.

“Thrusters….check. Navigation….check. Internal emissions sink engaged. All systems online. Drift…just under 1500 K.” Joker gave status report.

“1500 is good. Your captain will be pleased.” complemented Nihlus, a Turian Spectre. Then he turned around and left.

“I hate that guy.” Exclaimed Joker.

“Nihlus gave you a compliment….so you hate him?” asked Kaidan amused.

“You remember to zip up your jumpsuit on the way out of the bathroom? That’s good. I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pinhead. So that’s incredible!” And there was that arrogant side of Joker when he wastes no time in pointing out his prowess to others but he was indeed an exceptional pilot. He continued, “Besides, Spectres are trouble. I don’t like having him on board. Call me paranoid.”

“You’re paranoid. The Council helped fund this project. They have a right to send someone to keep an eye on their investment.”

“Yeah, that is the official story. But only an idiot believes the official story.”

“You always expect the worst.” Shepard said.

“Well, bad feelings are an occupational hazard. We don’t go anywhere unless there’s a good reason, so what are we doing here?” Joker defended himself. He was about to say more when Captain Anderson’s voice interrupted his bickering.

“Joker! Status report.” Ordered Anderson in the comm.

“Just cleared the mass relay, Captain. Stealth systems engaged. Everything looks solid.”

“Good. Find a comm buoy and us into the network. I want mission reports relayed back to Alliance brass before we reach Eden Prime.”

“Aye, aye, Captain. Better brace yourself, sir. I think Nihlus is headed your way.”

“He’s already here, Lieutenant. Tell Commander Shepard to meet me in the comm room for a debriefing.” Said Anderson.

“I am on my way.” Shepard said.

“Pff. Is it me or does the captain always sound a little pissed off?” Joker asked to no one in particular.

“Only when he’s talking to you, Joker.” Kaidan joked. Shepard turned around and left Kaidan and Joker with their argument and headed towards the debriefing room. On the way he found that Navigator Pressly and Engineer Adams were talking about having Nihlus on board the Normandy. He approached Pressly and talked with him and found that he wasn’t happy to have a Spectre on board, because Nihlus is a Turian and he hates Turian because his grandfather lost a lot of friends in the First Contact War when the turians attacked. Shepard made him see that he can’t blame Nihlus for that, because it was thirty years ago and a lot of things is changed now. But he had no complaints regarding Captain Anderson. Shepard had none either. He respects the man. He is his mentor and like a father whom he never knew. Then he heard Corporal Jenkins was talking with Doctor Chakwas, Normandy’s chief medical officer.

“I grew up on Eden Prime, Doc. It’s not the kind of place Spectres visit. There’s something Nihlus isn’t telling us about this mission.” Said Jenkins.

“That’s crazy. The Captain’s in charge here. He wouldn’t take orders from a Spectre.” Replied Doctor Chakwas.

“Not his choice, Doc. Spectres don’t answer to anyone. They can do whatever they want. Kill anyone who gets in their way.”

“Ha! You watch too many spy vids, Jenkins.”

“What do you think, Commander? We won’t be staying on Eden Prime too long, will we? I’m itching for some real action!” Jenkins asked Shepard.

“I sincerely hope you’re kidding, Corporal. Your ‘real action’ usually ends with me patching up crew members in the infirmary.” Chakwas joked.

“You need to calm down, Corporal. A good soldier stays cool, even under fire.” Shepard advised Jenkins.

“Sorry, Commander. But this waiting is killing me. I’ve never been on a mission like this before. Not one with a Spectre on board!”

“Just treat this like every other assignment you’ve had and everything will work out.” Shepard said.

“Easy for you to say. You proved yourself in the Blitz. Everybody knows what you can do. This is my big chance. I need to show the brass what I can do!”

“You are young, Corporal. You have a long career ahead of you. Be careful in the field. I don’t want to lose my squad.”

“Don’t worry, sir. You won’t lose me.” Jenkins smiled and walked away.

“How are you fairing Doctor?” Shepard asked.

“I am doing quite well Commander. It’s you I am worried about.”

“I am fine, Doctor.”

“Commander, I know this is a very personal matter. But there is no need to hide it from me and if I am not mistaken you had that dream again?” Chakwas asked. Shepard hesitated a bit.

“You know me well Doctor.” He sighed as he rubbed his hand over his forehead.

“Commander, I don’t know want to say this, but I think it’s time for you to move on.”

“I can’t do that Doctor. To tell you the truth I even tried believing that maybe I will never find her. But I couldn’t.”

“Commander…..”

“I know you want well Doctor. But I cannot forget about her. I failed her before but I will not fail her again.”

“Stop blaming yourself Commander. You were only 16. There was nothing you could do. But if my memory serves me right, I think you told me that you get yourself caught so that she could save herself. You put your life in danger for her and I think she is grateful for that.”

“Still……”

“No Commander. You can’t think of yourself like that. You did more than what was expected from you. And if she loves you like you do, I believe that she is out there somewhere, waiting for you or trying to find you.”

“Yeah. You are right Doctor. I should clear my mind.” As Shepard tried to clear his mind old memories of his childhood and the one he loved came back flooding his mind.

*********

**19 YEARS AGO, MINDOIR COLONY IN THE ATTICAN TRAVERSE**

The day was pretty boring for an 11 year old John. Heck, to him every day was boring to him. He has no friends, no family and no else either. He was all alone in this world. Sometimes when he lay in bed at night he cries silently. He also don’t know the identity of his parents. This made him even more depressed that he even don’t know who he is. He would have died with hunger if the man named David Levinson hadn’t found him and let him work in his shop. David was also kind enough to help him rent an apartment. At first he was living in an orphanage, which was destroyed when the slavers attacked. Most of the children died, and those who survived were taken away as prisoners. He somehow managed to hide himself from the slavers. And from then he wandered in the streets, hungry tired. Then one day David found him when he was crying in hunger. From that time he is working in David’s shop.

                                                          

John was walking along the street unmindfully thinking about his heritage, how he survived from the slavers. He just got out from his work in David’s shop and was walking towards his home. Then he heard a faint sound of someone crying. He looked around but couldn’t see anybody. So he started walking towards the way from where the sound of crying was coming. After looking for a bit he found the source of the sound. A girl, her face hidden in her palms was crying. She was sitting at the end of an ally in the dark. He slowly approached her, trying not to frighten her. At the sounds of his footsteps the girl looked up towards him. He was stunned. He was a child himself but when he saw the girl’s face, only a single thought came to his mind, _she was stunningly beautiful._ She has shoulder length long dark hair, a pale face with a pair of blue eyes and the skin of her face was flawless. As soon as the girl saw him, she cringed away from him in fear. He sat down on the street in front of her and gave her a big smile.

“Hello!” he greeted her. The girl seemed confused at his action because she didn’t say anything. He continued, “Hey, I am John. I am not going to harm you.” He extended his right hand towards her for her to shake it. The girl looked at his hand but never took it. Realising that she won’t take his hand, he retracted his hands away from her, but never dropped his smile. He said again,

“Hey, I am John. You are?” Still the girl didn’t say anything. He continued, “Why are you crying? Tell me, I can help you.” He smiled at her. Now the girl seemed hesitant. It looked as if she was thinking about whether to trust him or not. But she spoke at last, “Why do you want to help me?” She asked him with suspicion in her eyes. _Wow! She has a great voice._ He thought. Then he saw that she was looking at him expectantly and realised that he haven’t answered her question yet, because he was too busy thinking about her voice. His cheeks turned red in embarrassment but thankfully the ally was dark so she didn’t see it. He cleared his throat to speak.

“I know the feeling of being alone and helpless. I don’t want anyone to suffer what I faced in my life. So…..”

“I am hungry.” The girl stated quickly.

“Come with me. I will give you food in my apartment.” At the mention of taking her to his apartment she jumped away from him immediately. “I don’t believe you.” She said. Now he couldn’t understand how he will convince her that he meant well.

“Well, you are justified not to trust me. I am a complete stranger to you. But I assure you that………” He stopped as he could see three boys entered the ally and was approaching them. When they came near he recognised them as bullies who beats other children around.

“Well! Well! Look what we have here.” Said one of them. The other two sniggered. He approached the girl and grabbed her chin forcing her to look at him, “Well isn’t she pretty?” The other two had evil smile on their faces. She tried to move his hand away from her chin but she was unsuccessful as he was much stronger and bigger than her. Still she struggled to get herself free.

“Stop it girly, or the consequences will be bad.” Said the boy. John was fuming in anger. He always hated bullies.

“Leave her alone.” John stated in a cold voice. The three boys looked at him surprised. The one who was bullying the girl smirked, “Ooh! We are so scared. Let’s run or he will beat us to pulp for touching his girlfriend.” The other two laughed out loudly. John glared at them.

“Leave her or I will……..” John warned.

“”You will do what kid?” said one of them. Without answering them he punched the boy straight in his nose who held the girl in his grasp. He immediately released the girl from his grasp from pain.

“Damn it! He broke my nose! Get him.” The boy ordered his companions. The other two immediately lunged at him. One grabbed him from back and the other punched him in his stomach. He screamed in pain and fell to the ground clutching his stomach. They began to kick him mercilessly. Blood came out from his mouth, nose and ears. He was helpless to do anything. But what happened next was beyond anyone’s imagination. One of the boys who was beating John suddenly flew away and smashed into the wall. He fell to the ground unconscious. The other two was dumbfounded. Then they looked at the girl and saw that she was glowing with dark energy around her. Their eyes bulged. John took the chance even though his body was aching in pain from the beating he took. He grabbed a stone which was lying in the streets and hit one of the boys at the back of his head rendering him unconscious. But the other one with a bleeding nose was quick. He punched John square in his jaws. Blood spluttered from his mouth as he was thrown away. He lay on the ground seeing stars in his eyes and a throbbing pain at his chin. The bully turned to the girl. She was lying on the ground breathing heavily exhausted from using her biotics.

“Now, you deserve a punishment little girl. I thought to go easy on you. But now you will see the consequences of messing with me.” He sneered. Then he grabbed her and tried to tear her clothes. She screamed and struggled to get free. “No one will hear you girly, scream as much as you can.” He said with an evil smile. John was watching the whole scene. Seeing what the boy was trying to do to the girl a strange sense of protectiveness for the girl arose within him and something burst inside him in his anger. The boy was still laughing as he attempted to tear her clothes. But his laugh didn’t last long as he received a punch at his jaw which almost shattered his jaw. The girl and the bully both looked up and both of their eyes became wide. Standing in front of them was John. His entire body was glowing blue with dark energy much brighter than the girl and the cornea of his eyes was no longer there, instead his eyes were glowing bright blue like his entire body. The girl’s jaw dropped. John grabbed the bully and easily lifted him up with one hand by his clothes.

“Please let me go! Don’t kill me please!” said the bully trembling in fear. John greeted his teeth in anger. He turned towards the girl and saw both amazement and fear in her eyes. He faced the bully once again.

“Never do this again.” He said in a much colder voice than before. The bully just nodded. Then he threw him away. He fell to the ground and ran away. As soon as his anger dissipated the energy surrounding him vanished and he felt exhaustion like he never felt before. He fell to the ground. But before he became unconscious he saw with his hazy eyes that the girl was hovering over him and looking at him with concern in her eyes. After that he saw blackness.

                                                          

 When John regained, he felt his entire body was aching in pain. But then he suddenly realised that he has his head on something soft. He became confused and opened his eyes and saw that he was lying on the ground with his head on the girl’s lap. She was sleeping with her back against the wall and his head on her lap. _She’s still here._ He slowly sat up. The movement awakened her from her sleep.

“You alright?” she asked him immediately.

“I think so…” he replied. He flinched as a pain shot through his abdomen. He saw that she was looking at him with gratefulness and concern in her eyes.

“I don’t know why you saved me. But…thank you. If not for you, I would…….” She was cut off by John.

“It was nothing. Besides you were in need and I helped. It’s nothing to thank for. Anyone would have done the same. But you are welcome as you said ‘thank you’ to me.” He stated simply and flashed her a smile.

“Miranda……” she said quietly.

“Sorry, I didn’t get that.”

“Miranda, my name is Miranda Lawson, but you can call me Miri.” She said with a smile.

“Well you said your name at last. Phew! I get you to speak your name. That’s a success. And you have a nice name but I like the name ‘Miri’ more.” He grinned at her. She laughed at him and blushed. He continued, “So I presume you trust me somewhat now?” She nodded in agreement, still blushing. He laughed, but stopped immediately from the pain at his jaw. She immediately came forward and touched his face. As soon as she touched his face, they both flinched as if an immediate shock went through them. She retracted her hands from his face. “Your jaw is bruised.” He pouted. But immediately changed the mood with his joke, “I bet the girls will like me now if they saw this bruise.” He joked.

“What?” She seemed confused.

“Well some girls like bad boys, may be this bruise will prove that I am a bad boy and you know……” he stopped as she laughed out loud at his joke. He grinned at her.

“You are so silly.” She said between her laughter. Then her stomach grumbled.

“Looks like someone is hungry.” He said while chuckling. She pouted. “What?” he asked her seeing her reaction.

“Is the offer still open?” she asked him.

“Yes, of course.” He smiled brightly.

“Good, because I am starving.” She stated and helped him up. She ordered him to lean on her as they walked towards his home.

 

*********

 

“Clear your mind, Commander. You are going in a mission. You should stay cool-headed as you said to Jenkins.”

“I know Doctor Chakwas. I am getting late. The Captain is waiting for me.” Chakwas nodded as he walked towards the comm room.

 

 

**COMM ROOM**

“Commander Shepard. I was hoping you’d get here first. It will give us a chance to talk. I am interested in this world we’re going to – Eden Prime. I have heard it’s quite beautiful.” Said Nihlus.

“I’ve never been there.” Said Shepard.

“But you know of it. It’s become something of a symbol for your people, hasn’t it? Proof that humanity can not only establish colonies across the galaxy, but also protect them. But how safe is it really?”

“Do you know something?”

“Your people are still newcomers, Shepard. The galaxy can be a very dangerous place. Is the Alliance truly ready for this?”

“I think it’s about time we told the commander what’s really going on.” Said Anderson.

“This mission is far more than a simple shakedown run.” Interjected Nihlus.

“Is someone going to fill me in, Captain?” Shepard asked.

“We are making a covert pick-up on Eden Prime. That’s why we needed the stealth systems operational.” Said Anderson.

“There must be a reason you didn’t tell me about this, sir.” Said Shepard.

“This comes down from the top, Commander. Information strictly on a need-to-know basis. A research team on Eden Prime unearthed some kind of beacon during an excavation. It was Prothean.”

“I thought the Protheans vanished 50000 years ago.”

“Their legacy still remains. The mass relays, the Citadel, our ship drives – it’s all based on Prothean technology.” Said Nihlus.

“This is big Shepard. The last time humanity made a discovery like this, it jumped our technology forward two hundred years. But Eden Prime doesn’t have the facilities to handle something like this. We need to bring the beacon back to the Citadel for proper study.” Anderson stated.

“Obviously, this goes beyond mere human interests, Commander. This discovery could affect every species in Council space.” Nihlus stated.

“Why didn’t we keep the beacon for ourselves?” Shepard asked.

“You humans don’t have the best reputation. Some species see you as selfish. Too unpredictable. Too independent. Even dangerous.” Answered Nihlus.

“Sharing that beacon will improve relations with the Council. Plus, we need their scientific expertise. They know more about the Protheans than we do.” said Anderson.

“The beacon’s not the only reason I am here, Shepard.” Nihlus said. Now Shepard looked confused.

“Nihlus wants to see you in action, Commander. He’s here to evaluate you.” Anderson cleared his confusion.

“What’s going on captain?” he asked.

“The Alliance has been pushing for this for a long time. Humanity wants a larger role in shaping interstellar policy. We want more say with the Citadel Council. The Spectres represent the Council’s power and authority. If they accept a human into their ranks, it shows how far the Alliance has come.” Anderson answered.

“You held off an enemy assault during the Blitz single-handed. You showed not only courage but also incredible skill. That’s why I put your name forward as a candidate for the Spectres.” Said Nihlus.

“Why would a turian want a human in the Spectres?” asked Shepard.

“Not all turians resent humanity. Some of us see the potential of your species. We see what you have to offer to the rest of the galaxy…..and to the Spectres. We are an elite group. It’s rare to find an individual with the skills we seek. I don’t care that you’re human, Shepard. I only care that you can do the job.” Nihlus explained.

“Just tell me what I have to do.” Stated Shepard.

“I need to see your skills myself, Commander. Eden Prime will be the first of several missions together.” Nihlus added.

“You’ll be in charge of the ground team. Secure the beacon and get it onto the ship ASAP. Nihlus will accompany you to observe the mission.” Said Anderson.

“Why is the beacon so important?

“All advanced galactic civilization is based on Prothean technology. Even yours.” Said Nihlus.

“If we hadn’t discovered those Prothean ruins buried on Mars, we’d be still stuck on Earth. That was a small data cache. Who know what we can learn from this beacon? What if it’s a weapon archieve? We can’t let it fall into the wrong hands.” Anderson stated the reason.

“Like who?” Shepard asked them.

“The Attican traverse isn’t the most stable sector of Citadel space. There are plenty of raiders and criminal groups active in the region. They might figure a Prothean beacon is worth the risk of attacking an Alliance ship. Plus, Eden Prime is right on the border of the Terminus Systems.” Answered Anderson.

“The Attican traverse is under Citadel protection. If the Terminus Systems attack, it’s an act of war.” Shepard stated.

“Technically, yes. But some of the species in the Terminus might be willing to start a war over this.” Nihlus agreed.

“The last thing the Council wants is to get dragged into a major conflict with the Terminus Systems. We have to keep this low-key.” Said Anderson.

“Just give the word, Captain.” Said Shepard.

“We should be getting close to Eden……” Anderson was cut off by Joker’s voice in the comm. “Captain! We’ve got a problem.” Said joker.

“What’s wrong, Joker?” asked Anderson.

“Transmission from Eden Prime, sir. You better see this!” said Joker.

“Bring it up on the screen.” Ordered Anderson.

 

When the screen turned on they saw that Eden Prime was under chaos. Soldiers were screaming orders and reported heavy casualties and asking for reinforcements. Then the screen focused on a huge, strange ship. It had four tentacles and red lighting was sparking in it’s entire body and people screaming. Then the transmission cut off. Anderson asked for status report and Joker reported that there is no Alliance ship near Eden Prime. Anderson ordered Joker to fly towards Eden Prime. He stated that Nihlus will accompany Shepard.

“Grab your gear and meet us in the cargo hold. Tell Alenko and Jenkins to suit up. You are going in Commander……” said Anderson.


	2. A rogue Spectre

**_EDEN PRIME, FEW MINUTES LATER………._ **

 

“Somebody was doing some serious digging here, Captain.” Joker informed through comm.

“Your team’s the muscle in this operation Commander. Go in heavy and head straight for the dig site.” Said Anderson.

“What about survivors, Captain?” asked Kaidan.

“Helping survivors is a secondary objective. The beacon’s your top priority.” Said Anderson.

“Nihlus? You are coming with us?” asked Jenkins.

“I move faster on my own.” Replied Nihlus. He then jumped down from the Normandy and moved towards his objective.

“Nihlus will scout out ahead. He’ll feed you status reports throughout the missions, otherwise I want radio silence.” Anderson ordered.

“We’ve got his back Captain.” Shepard assured.

“The mission yours now Shepard. Good luck.” Said Anderson.

“We are approaching drop point two.” Joker informed through comm. Shepard gave a nod to Anderson and prepared to descend on Eden Prime with Kaidan and Jenkins.

                                                 After landing they made sure that the Normandy’s perimeter was secure. Nihlus informed them through radio that enemies are swarming in the area. They began to move forward slowly keeping their guard up.

“God, what happened here?” said Jenkins. Shepard stopped him because he heard something. Then they saw two combat drones approaching them. John ordered Kaidan and Jenkins to get to cover and he himself dove behind a rock. He knew that these assault drones has heavy fire power which will be able cut through their shields and armor within seconds. But Jenkins began to fire on the drones instead of going to cover. The consequence was imminent. Both the drones focused on Jenkins and put their heavy fire on him, which tore through his shields and armor. He dropped dead on the ground immediately. “ _Shit_ ’ John cursed under his breath.

“Kaidan overload the drone’s shield on your left.” Shepard ordered. He nodded and used overload on the drone at his left side. The drone’s shield gone down immediately and he finished with off with two bursts from his shotgun. Meanwhile John switched to disruptor ammo in his assault rifle and open fired on the remaining drone from cover. The disruptor ammo dropped its shield and the rapid fire from his assault rifle destroyed its armor, finishing it off. They made sure the area was clear before moving towards Jenkins’ body. Kaidan begin to check on him.

“Tore through his shield and armor, never stood a chance.” Examined Kaidan. John didn’t say anything. “Commander?” he asked.

“He deserves a proper burial. When we will finish our mission we will make sure that he gets a proper burial. But we must push forward to the dig site and I need you to stay focused.”

“Aye, aye Sir!”

                                            Shepard and Kaidan barely moved a few meters ahead when they were again attacked by combat drones. This time Shepard didn’t even let Kaidan gave time to attack the drones, he destroyed both the drones with his shotgun with exceptional agility and quickness.

“These are geth drones Commander.” Kaidan informed.

“Then the geths are nearby. Let’s move.”

“                                              Again they encountered against few more drones. After taking care of them they pushed forwards towards dig site. They reached near their destination without further resistance. They saw that the geths were there and also that female marine who they saw in the video feed. She was pinned down by geths.

“Kaidan provide covering fire, I will try to get behind them.” Shepard ordered.

                                                Kaidan nodded and started to provide suppressive fire with his assault rifle. Shepard sneaked behind the geths and took them out from behind with his shotgun. After seeing the fight is won both Kaidan and the female marine lowered their gun. She walked towards Shepard realizing that he is the team leader and her savior.

“Thank you Commander. I thought that……..” she stopped. She saw with horror that Shepard was aiming his shotgun at her and even before she could blink he fired at her. But the shot never hit her instead she heard a mechanical groan behind her. She turned behind and saw that a geth is lying on the ground, clearly dead and its cloak is slowly fading away. She turned back towards Shepard, clearly impressed by his ability and skill and she was also impressed in other ways…….. _by his looks. She saw Commander Shepard in news and extranet many times and it clearly showed how much handsome he is but watching in video feed was nothing compared to watching him directly in front of him. This man is a hero and she knew….not only herself but everyone knew that every human women desire him…..hell she even saw some asaris to gossip about him._

“No need to thank me marine. You are?” Shapard asked.

“Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212. You the one in charge here, sir?” she saluted him.

“Are you wounded Williams?”

“A few scrapes and burns. Nothing serious. Others weren’t so lucky.” She replied.

“What happened here?”

“Oh, man……We were patrolling the perimeter when they attacked us. We tried to get off a distress call, but they cut all our communications. I’ve been fighting for my life ever since.”

“Where is the rest of your squad?”

“We tried to double back to the beacon. But we walked into an ambush. I don’t think any of the others……..I think I am the only one left.”

“Are they all geths?”

“Yes sir.”

“The geth haven’t been seen outside the Veil in nearly 200 years. Why are they here now?” Kaidan asked Ashley.

“They must have come for the beacon. The dig site is close. Just over that rise. It might still be there.” Ashley replied.

“We could use your help, Williams.” Shepard said.

“I am with you, sir.” Ashley smiled.

                                         Kaidan rolled his eyes. ‘ _Not again._ ’ _He thought. He knew where this was heading,_ _as usual_. _Ashley Williams is clearly taken to the Commander……her expression and the way she is looking at him tells Kaidan, it’s true. This always happens. Every lady who meets the Commander, wanted to be with him within few minutes of knowing him. Maybe, that’s the Commander’s charm or personality, maybe both which draws female without the Commander even trying to do that. If truth be told his is sometimes jealous………no, absolutely not, maybe envious, yes……that’s right envious of the Commander. But strangely Kaidan always observed that the Commander never encouraged women that he likes them and he never pursued them even the women always tried to woo him. He either remained strictly professional or established a relationship of merely friendship and certainly not friends with benefits things. It’s not that the women who desired him were always bad women….. Well, most of them were nice. But the Commander didn’t even looked at them, he never did. Joker also told him about Shepard being reluctant to establish a romantic relationship with a woman. He really cannot find any possible reason because as far he knew and observed, he know that the Commander don’t have a girlfriend or a wife or a family. But for now, he decided to let it go because he realized that it’s the Commander’s personal matter, so he turned his concentration on Williams and Commanders conversation._

“Tell me about the beacon.” Shepard said.

“They were doing some doing out here to extend the monorail and expand the colony. A few weeks ago they unearthed some _prothean_ ruins………and the beacon. Suddenly, every scientific expert in the colony was interested. That’s when they brought us in to secure the site. I don’t know much about the beacon itself. But I heard one of the researchers say this could be the biggest scientific discovery of the century.”

“What happened to the researchers at the dig site?”

“I don’t know. They set up camp near the beacon. The 232 was with them. Maybe their unit fared better than mine.”

“Describe what happened leading up to the attack.”

“We were sent out a couple nights ago from the main colony to secure the area. Seemed like a routine patrol until the geth hit us. We never knew they were coming.”

“Have you seen a turian Spectre around here?”

“There aren’t any turians on eden Prime. None that I have ever met. Not sure I’d be able to tell if one was a Spectre, anyway.”

“If you saw this guy, you’d know. Carries enough firepower to wipe out a whole platoon. Luckily, he’s on our side.” Kaidan said.

“Sorry. Like I said, no turians.” Ashley shrugged a bit.

“Let’s move out then.” Shepard ordered.

                                                     

 

                                                             After few minutes they reached the dig site to find that it was empty.

“This is the dig site. The beacon was right here. It must have been moved.” Said Ashley.

“By whom? Our side? Or the geth?”

“Hard to say. Maybe we will know more after we check out the research camp.” Ashley replied.

“You think anyone got out of here alive?” Shepard asked.

“If they were lucky. Maybe hiding up in the camp. It’s just on top of this ridge. Up the ramps.” Ashley said.

“Wait.” Shepard stopped his team as they were about to move. He started to speak with Nihlus in his comm, “Go on Nihlus, I can hear you.”

“Change of plans, Shepard. There is a small spaceport up ahead. I want to check it out. I will wait for you there.” With that Nihlus ended the communication.

“Ok team, let’s move.” Shepard ordered. Soon they reached the camp and saw the destruction there.

“Looks like they hit the camp hard.” Ashley murmured.

“It’s a good place for an ambush. Keep your guard up.” Kaidan advised.

“Looks like the camp is empty, no hostiles and no survivors either.” Ashley informed.

“What the hell are those?” Kaidan asked pointing to few metal pillars on which some human bodies were stuck and hanging from them. But they didn’t look human anymore, they were like skeletons and they were totally changed. There were no skin on their bodies, instead their body were covered with an unknown substance which was radiating a blue light from their bodies. They had some kind of mechanical robotic eyes with the same blue glow.”

“Oh, god! They are still alive.” Ashley exclaimed in horror as she saw them moving.

“What did the geth do to them?” Kaidan shouted while readying his rifle. Then he saw that the metal pillars were lowering and the mutated human beings detached themselves from the pillar and started to move towards them.

“ _Abominations_.” Said Shepard in a strangely calm voice.

“What?” Kaidan asked and when he turned to look at Shepard, his eyes became wide. He saw that Shepard’s eyes were glowing blue, but not like the husks strange blue color, it was the color of blue dark energy, _biotics_. Kaidan blinked his eyes and next time when he saw Shepard, he saw that his eyes were normal as usual. _Did he saw right?_ He dismissed the idea realizing that it must be the light from those monsters that were reflecting on the glass of Shepard’s helmet which made him saw that his eyes were glowing. So he concentrated on his enemies. The three of them open fired on those creatures. After killing those things Shepard learned a few things about the creatures.

“Listen. These things don’t have armor, so it would be fairly easy to take them out but they are quick and attack in numbers. So don’t let them corner you. Kill them hard and fast.” Shepard advised his teammates.

“Yes Sir.” They replied in understanding. After that they killed few more of those creatures on their way. Shepard saw that Ashley Williams got herself pretty well adjusted with them and she has no problem regarding taking orders from him.

“Are they all dead?” Kaidan asked looking for more of those creatures. Then he saw a body of a turian lying on the ground few feet away from them. It was Nihlus.

“Commander, its Nihlus. He is dead. He was shot at the back of his head.”

“A turian you know him?” Ashley asked Shepard.

“He’s a Spectre. I was asking about him.” Shepard replied.

“Something is moving! Over behind those crates!” Ashley warned them in low voice. They all moved towards the crates with their weapon raised. A man stood up from behind the crates with his hand over his head.

“Wait! Don’t…… don’t shoot! I am one of you! I am human.” He pleaded.

“Sneaking up on us like that nearly got you killed!” Shepard told him.

“I…. I am sorry. I was hiding from those creatures. My name is Powell. I saw what happened to the turian. The other one shot him.” Powell explained.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Shepard asked him, confused.

“There were two turians here. Your friend and the other one he called Saren. I think they knew each other. Your friend seemed to relax. He let his guard down…… and Saren killed him. Shot him right in his head. I am just lucky he didn’t see me behind the crates.”

“Damn! We were told a Prothean beacon was brought to the spaceport. What happened to it?”

“It’s over on the other platform. Probably where that guy Saren was headed. He hopped on the cargo train right after he killed your friend. I know that beacon was trouble. Everything’s gone to hell since we found it. First that damn mother ship showed up. Then the attack. They killed everyone. Everyone! If I hadn’t behind those crates I’d be dead too.”

“How come you are the only one survived? Why didn’t anyone else tried to hide behind the crates?” Shepard asked with suspicion.

“They never had a chance. I….. I was already behind the crates when the attack started.”

“Wait a minute. You were hiding behind the crates before the attack?” Kaidan asked.

“I… sometimes I need to nap to get through my shift. I sneak up behind the crates to grab forty winks where the supervisor can’t find me.” Powell answered.

“You survived because you were lazy?” Ashley said with disgust.

“If you hadn’t snuck off for that nap you’d probably be dead just like all the others.” Shepard saved him realizing that the man is telling the truth.

“Yeah. Yeah, I guess. I don’t really want to think about it.” Powell said.

“Alright, tell me about the geth attack.”

“It was quick. One minute, that ship was descending. The next, those geths were swarming over the platform, thousands of them. They must have been inside that mother ship. They shot anything that moved. It was a massacre.” Powell explained the situation to Shepard.

“Is there anything else you can tell me about the beacon?” Shepard asked.

“They brought it here this morning. We loaded it up onto the train and shipped it to the other platform. Hard to believe that was only few hours ago. Feels like a whole other life.”

“Describe the _mother ship_ you saw.”

“I have never seen anything like it before. It….. It was huge. Landed over near the platform. The whole place got dark as it came down. And…. And it was making this…… this sound that bored right into your brain. That’s what woke me up. The attack came a few minutes later.”

“We need to find that beacon before it’s too late.” Shepard said to his teammates.

“Take the cargo train. That’s where the other turian went. I….. I can’t stay here. I need to get away from all this.” Powell ran away after giving them the information.

“Let’s move out.” Shepard ordered. They didn’t even moved five meters, when they were again attacked by the geths. Ashley and Kaidan took out several of them with Shepard, only two remained. Shepard lobbed one grenade at the one hiding behind the crates, killing it effectively. He never stopped. He threw that grenade while he was running and after throwing it he slide across the ground and shooting simultaneuosly and took out the last geth behind the cover to his right.

“The cargo train is at the end of that pathway, let’s move out.” Shepard said.

“Commader! Look out a Geth Prime!” Ashley warned.

“Ashley behind the crate to your left and be ready with your sniper, Kaidan and me will drain its shield for you to take the shot.” Shepard said to Ashley. She immediately took cover behind the crate to her left readying her sniper rifle. Kaidan overloaded the geth prime’s shield draining it partially and he and Shepard took down the rest of its shield with heavy fire. Ashley was ready, she shot it immediately after its shield gone down. She took it down with a single shot at its head.

“There’s the pathway, it must lead us to the cargo train, Commander.” Said Kaidan. They reached the narrow pathway and immediately took heavy fire from geth troops.

“Shit! There are too many of them and this path is too narrow to avoid being shot.” Shouted Ashley in midst of shooting.

“Don’t worry Williams, the Commander is here. He will find a way, he always does.” Kaidan assured Ashley.

“Kaidan, Williams, stay behind the cover and snipe them.” Shepard indicated towards the geths at the far end of the pathway.

“Aye, aye Commander.” They both said in unison. The trio took all the geth down except one which was at the farthest end of the pathway behind a cover, armed with a missile launcher. It was behind a cover in such a way that they could not even target him with sniper. Kaidan tried to push forward but he was forced to take cover as heavy missile attack rained on him, draining his shield in the process.

“Damn it! It took down my shield.” Kaidan informed and jumped behind cover to avoid damage.

“We can’t move Commander, he pinned us down and he is behind a good cover.” Ashley said while she continued to shoot at the geth preventing it to board the cargo train.

“Williams come to my position, you will get a shot at him.” Shepard said. Ashley moved to Shepard’s position and tried to scope the geth with her sniper. At first she couldn’t see the geth through her scope but after looking for few seconds she discovered a gap through which she could see the geth, barely. The gap was the size of a keyhole and the geth was coming at her sight through the cover for just a few milliseconds. She realized that this was an impossible shot, the bullet won’t go through that gap.

“Commander, this is an impossible shot!” she shouted. Shepard looked at her and indicated her to take back her previous position. Shepard took the sniper from her and went back to sniping position.

“I am taking it down. Force it to show its head.” Shepard said to them. Ashley was about to say something but she stopped as a missile missed her by inches and she dove for cover. She wondered after taking cover, _how on earth will he shoot that geth, it’s impossible_. She resumed firing bullets at the geth keeping it at its place. Then she heard the sound of a sniper shot. She peeked from cover and her eyes became wide. She saw the geth was lying on the ground, clearly dead and its head is blown away from the sniper shot.

“How did………” Ashley stated with amazement in her face and her mouth hanging open. Kaidan smirked at her reaction.

“Let’s go to the controls of the cargo train.” Shepard ordered. Kaidan smirked again and moved towards the train. Ashley was still standing at her position with her mouth hanging open. At Shepard’s voice she got out of her trance and followed them to the train.

 

**_FEW MINUTES LATER………._ **

“Damn! Commander, the geths are setting charges, they went to blow this place apart.” Said Kaidan.

“I will diffuse the charges, you and Williams cover my back.” Shepard ordered.

“You got it sir.” Ashley said.

                                           Then a heavy fire fight started. Shepard quickly disabled the first charge while Ashley and kaidan rained hell on the geths. After searching, disabling all the charges and fighting off the geths they finally reached the place where the beacon was. But immediately they were ambushed by abomination. The trio worked in unison and killed the abominations in no time. The last few of abominations were killed by Kaidan’s inferno grenade.

“I think that’s the last of them.” Kaidan sighed.

“I hate those things.” Ashley said with disgust in her voice.

“Normandy, the beacon is sure. Request immediate evac.” Shepard said in comm.

“This is amazing. Actual working Prothean technology. Unbelievable.” Said Kaidan while watching the beacon.

“It wasn’t doing anything like that when they dug it up.” Ashley said.

“What do you mean?” Kaidan asked.

“I mean, it wasn’t activated then, but now something has done it.” She replied and slowly walked towards the beacon. But soon she realized her mistake. As she came within three feet distance from it, the beacon began to pull her towards it with an invisible but extremely powerful force. She tried her best but couldn’t free herself from the force which was dragging her towards the beacon. She fell down and desperately tried to claw at the ground to prevent herself from getting dragged towards the beacon, but her actions were fruitless as the ground had nothing at which she could grab on. Shepard was talking with Joker in his comm with his back turned towards the beacon so he didn’t saw Ashley. But as soon as he heard her desperate cry he immediately ran towards her. He quickly grabbed her hand but immediately found himself being dragged towards the beacon along with Ashley. He used all his strength and yanked her free from the pulling force of the beacon but he couldn’t free himself. He was pulled towards beacon and found himself being lifted off from the ground and immediately felt an immense pain inside his head. Ashley wanted to run towards Shepard to save him but Kaidan stopped her.

“No! No! Don’t touch him. It’s too dangerous.” Kaidan stopped her by grabbing her tightly with his arms.

Shepard saw a vision while being suspended in mid-air. _The whole galaxy was in chaos, everything is dying everywhere and a war against thousands of mother ship similar to the one he saw. But he saw the most terrifying thing next – his worst nightmare. He saw himself standing in front of a round platform in a strange place and on the platform stood a girl with raven black hair. My God! It’s her. Suddenly the platform on which she stood gave away and she slid down with her hands outstretched towards him, eyes wide with fear and silently begging him to catch her. He immediately jumped after her but he couldn’t prevent her from falling into the dark void. He watched in horror as she fell but while falling she said to him, “Find me John, I am waiting for you.”_

_“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” he shouted as he saw her disappearing into darkness. After that he just saw blackness._

At the same time at an unknown distance and place far away from Eden Prime, a woman woke up in her bed from her nightmare, sweating and breathing heavily and fresh tears were rolling down her cheeks as she started sobbing loudly with her face buried in her pillows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) Cerberus won’t change John Shepard in any way in Mass Effect 2. They will not even put biotic implants in his body. Not revealing further now for spoilers.  
> 2) Please, I am requesting to every reader, please leave a review before leaving. It encourages me a lot. And if you have any question or find any inconsistency or you have some suggestions for me, please PM me.


	3. The Cerberus Operative

**_AT A BAR IN PLANET ILLIUM_ **

Two men were sitting face to face in a table quietly sipping their drink. One man was Asian and the other one was mean looking but from his outfit it was evident that he was extremely rich. He was smoking a cigar and looking at the asari dancer with lustful eyes who was dancing on their table. The Asian man named Mr. Chang spoke after some time, “Are you sure they are not following you here Mr. Simpson?”

“Positively. I left no trace back there that I am here and they can’t do anything here, this place is heavily guarded and I also have my personal bodyguard with me.” The mean looking man named Mr. Simpson indicated towards the krogan sitting in a table few feet away from them.

“But I don’t get it, why they are after you?” Mr. Chang asked.

“Took a lot of credits for them against the goods they demanded but I didn’t dispatched them the goods.” Mr. Simpson replied smugly.

“Why didn’t you? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Not at all. I just got a better customer than them after taking the credits and I didn’t return them the credits because I needed that credit to meet some losses I incurred in my factory.”

“Mr. Simpson you should have known better. They don’t take betrayal lightly.” Mr. Chang said. Mr. Simpson didn’t answered him for a while he just puffed on his cigar. Finally he said in an almost inaudible tone, “I know……..” but he stopped in mid-sentence as his eyes fell on a woman standing a few feet away from him and smirking at him. _She is sexy and hot….. Correction, she is the sexiest and hottest woman he had ever seen._ As he observed her body she gave him a seductive smile. After that Mr. Simpson couldn’t control himself any longer. He have to meet her and if things go well soon he will get what he wanted from her. He stood up and walked towards her where she was standing at a corner of the bar leaning against a wall sipping her drink. He stood for a few moments in front of her, admiring her body. His eyes were glued to her breasts. She saw that and smirked again at him.

“See anything you like?” she asked with a smug smile. Mr. Simpson unwillingly took his eyes away from her breasts and looked at her face. She has shoulder length blonde hair and a pair of beautiful blue eyes. _She is the image of perfection,_ he thought.

“I am Mr. Simpson. You probably saw me in the news many times.” He started to praise himself to impress her.

“OH MY GOD! You are Mr. Simpson – the famous businessman. Yes, yes you are. How I couldn’t recognize you?” She said in a way as if she was ashamed of herself for not recognizing him. She continued again, “I….I am really lucky that I met the man of whom I dream about every day. You know my father always advised me to follow your works and I learned many things from you.” She stuttered, her cheeks were red with embarrassment.

“Oh! Glad to know I have a fan. But I can give you something for which you will remember me throughout your life.” He gave her a devilish smirk. Her face colored more as she caught the meaning of his words.

“I….I…mean that….” she stuttered again.

“Don’t worry my dear, I won’t keep you for long, maybe for two hours.” He told her.

“OK.” She gave him a shy smile.

“You won’t regret this. Maybe if I find you satisfying enough, I will take you as my personal assistant.” She smiled at him hearing his offer and said, “Thank you Mr. Simpson. I….. I will be glad to work with you.”

“Let’s not waste any time. My apartment is nearby.”

 

                                                     After few moments they both stood outside his apartment while his guards were checking her for any kind of weapon. When they were satisfied that she wasn’t carrying any kind of weapon they let her enter the apartment.

“So what is your name?” Mr. Simpson asked her.

“Ana.” She answered.

“Will you like some wine before satisfying me?” he gave her a lustful smirk.

“I would like some wine.” She said shyly. After that they had some small talks regarding his accomplishments in business while drinking wine. Suddenly Mr. Simpson felt dizzy, his vision began to cloud.

“What’s happening to me?” he asked himself while grabbing his head with both his hands. Soon he found that he no can move no longer, his whole body has become paralyzed. He looked at Ana and saw that she was smirking at him. Slowly realization dawned on him.

“What did you put in my drinks, you bitch?” he questioned. His vision becoming dark with every passing second. She slowly put her wine glass down on the table. Then she walked towards him and stopped just in front of him. He looked at her face. He saw the smile on her face was long gone replaced by cold hatred and anger. Then he saw that her body started to glow with dark energy. His eyes became wide with fear. He wanted to call his guards but realized that he couldn’t even speak anymore. _Is she going to kill me?_ He thought with fear in his mind. Then she socked him in the face, hard and he immediately saw blackness.

“ _Cerberus_ says, hello. Bastard!” Ana spat at him with disgust. After that she left him in his bedroom. The toxin which she gave him in his drinks will render his unconscious for at least eight hours but the toxin has no side effects apart from making his body unmovable and making him unconscious. She hacked his omni – tool easily and got the code for his vault where he kept his valuable items. She had one more work left, getting rid of his bodyguard. She knew that by this time her fellow men already taken care of other guards in the apartment. She took the pistol from her prisoners’ body and went towards the door. Then she shouted for help and stood with her back against the wall just beside the door, so that the krogan couldn’t see her. Her plan worked effectively.  The krogan came rushing inside and tried to locate the source of trouble. She raised her pistol to the back of his head and shot him right in his head. The krogan immediately fell to the floor dead. To make sure that he was dead he emptied the entire clip in his body. She ordered her men in her hidden comm to collect the prisoner. They immediately came inside the room with a tall man with strong body and an assault rifle in his hand. The others who entered immediately get to work. Ana took off her blonde wig from her head causing her shoulder length raven hair to fall down lose.

“Everything okay, _Miranda_?” the tall man asked Ana.

“I am fine Jacob.” Miranda gave Jacob a curt reply.

“Did he……” he couldn’t finish his sentence because Miranda answered him before he could finish.

“No. How could you think I will let him touch me? You should have known better Jacob.”

“I know Miranda, but I really don’t like this.”

“Stop it Jacob. I am not a damsel in distress who couldn’t look after herself.” She snapped.

“I have no doubt in your skills Miranda but you know….. I can’t help but worry……” again he was stopped in mid – sentence by her.

“Jacob I told you many times that I am not interested. I don’t have time for relationships and besides I don’t have any kind of romantic feelings for you.” Now she raised her voice slightly.

“But how could you know? You never gave us a chance. Miranda, I genuinely care about you.” Jacob almost pleaded to her.

“I don’t want to talk about this topic anymore. I am heading to my apartment, will see you at the base later.” She replied coldly and quickly left the apartment before Jacob could say anything.

 

                                                           Miranda after entering her apartment in Illium felt pretty tired. She realized it must because of the lack of rest she got for the past few days and lack of sleep because of that dream. It was still fresh in her mind haunting her every time she closes her eyes. She shivered thinking about what she saw in the dream.

                                                            _She saw him, her John, exactly as she remembered him from her teen age. He was with her in a strange place and she, herself was standing on short, round platform. Soon she found herself sliding down along the platform as it suddenly gave away. At that moment she knew that her life is about to end. She looked up at him and saw that he was looking at her with utter horror in his face. She watched the vast blackness down the platform in which she was about to fall and her eyes widened with fear. Then she saw him sliding towards her with his arms outstretched towards her trying to grab her hand. She didn’t know how, but somehow he caught her as she was suspended in mid - air and was about to fall into the darkness of the void. They both grabbed the edge of the platform and tried to get up on the platform. Somehow she pulled herself up with his help as he pushed her from behind with his hand, so that she could lift herself up. Suddenly, she saw with panicking eyes as a rubble from the ceiling fell on him, taking him down with it in to the dark void. He looked at her straight in her eyes while falling, blue eyes met blue eyes and he uttered, “I will find you Miri, wait for me.” She shouted in horror as she saw him disappearing into the void, “NOOOOOOOOOO! JOOOOOHHHHHNNNNN!” Then she woke up in her bed sweating and breathing heavily with tears running down her face. She hid her face in her pillows and sobbed loudly and murmured, “Please, be alive John. I am living every day of my life with the belief that you are alive and you will find me one day. Don’t be dead, John. I can’t survive with you being dead. I always believed in you and I still do, so find me quickly, I can’t stay without you anymore, please come back to me.”_

                                                       Miranda was shivering every time she thought about the scene in her dream in which she saw him falling into the darkness. She quickly realized that she was crying again while thinking about him. She rubbed her tears away from her face and decide to freshen up by taking a bath and getting some much needed sleep.

                                                      After few minutes she got herself refreshed and went to bed after eating some light food. She was thinking about her mission with her eyes closed while lying in her bed. Her objective was to track down the target and get the job done by seducing him which was the easiest method. This mission was a simple to her which she have done many times. But she feels disgusted with herself every time she does her job of seducing men. But she never let any men touch her ever in the past nor would she let them ever, except _him._ She can’t think of being intimate with any man except that one man she loved, with all her heart. She knew that if she wanted she could have any man in her bed begging her to seduce them because she was beautiful, perfect physical beauty and everything else which screams for male attention. She never wanted men stare at her body like animals. She just wanted only one person’s attention and she got it, she got more than she ever imagined. She remembered the way he looked at her always with respect, admiration and most of all with his eyes full of love, that he reserved only for her alone which was completely different from other men who just wanted to get their desires fulfilled. She still don’t know how he could love her so much after she told him what she was. She expected him to see her with disgust or hatred in his eyes but those expression never appeared in his face. His eyes still showed her that it doesn’t matter to him. He told her that he will always love her and nothing would ever change that and his love for her will never lessen but it will grow steadily, and it really happened. She also loved him equally if not more. At that time she knew that her heart is permanently taken by him and no one else will ever be in her heart except him. She remembered first time when Operative Jacob Taylor first expressed his desire to be with her. She felt bad now because of the way she put him down immediately with her harsh words. It wasn’t that Jacob was a cruel or a vile man, he is indeed a good man. She also liked him but not romantically. They became friends quickly from working partners from doing many works and missions together. She turned him down because she knew she will never be able to love him because her heart was stolen long ago by that 15 year old boy. But she also remembered her heart breaking as he sacrificed himself to save her from the slavers. He distracted them so she could hide. He never thought of what would happen to him after he gets caught, his only priority was to save her and he indeed saved her but at the cost of his own life. That memory still brought tears to her eyes every time she thought about it. She got caught by her father’s men after he was gone. She was tortured by her father Henry Lawson for over a year continuously. But during that time she trained herself with her biotic abilities, hand to hand fight, became expert in many medical and technological studies and got herself prepared to fight against her father one day. She shifted her thoughts to the first time she met Illusive Man in person. He assigned her with a job which was of most utmost important to the organization of Cerberus. The Illusive Man put his faith in her and she decided that she will try her best to keep his trust and as the years went by she became one of his most trusted operatives.

                                                 She turned her thoughts once more to John. After all these years she really don’t know where he is now. _Does he miss me like the way I miss him?_ She thought. All those years ago when he was taken away by the slavers she became heartbroken and miserable. She wanted to die because she had no purpose to live anymore and she had no one in the world who cares about her. The only person who cared for her was taken away from her cruelly, and she could do nothing. Then suddenly, one day she again found the purpose to live once more when she heard that everyone who was imprisoned by the slavers from the Mindoir colony is rescued by an Alliance ship. From that moment she desperately wanted to see him once again and be in his arms which made her feel special, loved and safe. But she couldn’t get out of her father’s grasp. She cried almost every day for him, wanting to see him again with her own eyes. But it never happened. After two years when she was seventeen she was ready to escape from her father once again and this time it wasn’t just only for her. She recently discovered that she has a sister. She decided to give her sister a normal life which she never had, _not entirely correct_ she thought. _She had a normal and a very happy life when she was with him._ She kidnapped her newly born sister and escaped from her father’s grasp with the help of a friend Niket. He really was her friend, probably her only friend whom she trusted more than anyone, except _him_. Then one day when she was wondering alone with her sister not knowing what to do, two people approached her and said that they will make sure that her sister will have a good family to grow up and in exchange they need her service. They appreciated her talent in many fields. She accepted their offer and went away with them. After that she desperately tried to find him through her various contacts which she gained over the years working for Cerberus but she never found any trace of him. Now after all these years she realized that the heartache she always feels whenever she thought about him will go away with time passed but her feelings for him only grew stronger instead of lessening, so did her heartache. She don’t know how much longer she could carry on without him. It was pathetic. She was a grown woman, a tough operative under whose icy glares men wets their pants. She even managed to earn the title of _Ice Queen_ throughout all these years working for Cerberus. But when it came to him she acts like a love-sick teenager. She couldn’t help it though. She shifted her thoughts on how the two of them became best friends only within a year and after two years from then they both realized that they were in love with each other, hopelessly and forever in love. She smiled at the memory when she first kissed him on his lips and his reaction to that.

 

**19 YEARS AGO, MINDOIR COLONY IN THE ATTICAN TRAVERSE**

_John entered his apartment with Miranda supporting him. She let him sit on his bed leaning against his pillow._

_“Where’s the first aid kit?” Miranda asked him._

_“There….. Inside the cabinet.” John answered. She got the kit and was about to clean his wounds and dried blood on his face and arms when he stopped her. She looked confused._

_“What?” she asked him._

_“I will treat my wounds, don’t worry. You get yourself some food from the kitchen.” He said._

_“No. First I will take care of your wounds, then we will eat together.” She said the words with such determination in her eyes and face that he couldn’t find any words to argue with her._

_After thirty minutes or so, they were eating and having small talks that’s when Miranda asked him, “So you are also a biotic?”_

_“Me? Biotic? No. Whatever gave you that idea?” he asked her._

_“What do you mean by ‘no’? Your biotic powers were incredibly powerful. I neither heard nor ever saw a powerful biotic like you.” She said in amazement._

_“I really don’t know what you are talking about Miri, I really am not a biotic.” He said now totally confused._

_“John you saved me from those boys with your biotics.”_

_“What? Are you serious? But I don’t even remember it. I thought that you saved me.” Miranda looked at him and saw that he was indeed telling her the truth. It was clear from the expression of his face that he is totally confused._

_“But how couldn’t you remember? This is really strange.”_

_“I don’t know what happened back there and it doesn’t matter whether I used biotic abilities or not, the only thing that matters is that you are safe.” He smiled at her lightly._

_“Thank you, for what you did. No one ever did anything like that for me.” She smiled and kissed both his cheeks. Miranda lowered her face to eat her food so she didn’t saw him blushing madly after she kissed him._

_“So what is your story? I mean why were you there alone in the dark corner of the street? Don’t you have a family? You can answer if you feel that you can trust me.”_

_“Of course I trust you. But first I want to know about you.”_

_“Ok. So, what do you want to know?” he asked her. She looked at him with curiosity in her eyes._

_“What is your full name?” she asked._

_“John. You know it.” He said with a chuckle._

_“I mean, what is your surname?”_

_“I don’t have one.”_

_“What do you mean?”_

_“I grew up in an orphanage Miranda and I never knew who my parents were.”_

_“I…. I am sorry.”_

_“You don’t have anything to be sorry about Miri. Before I met you I was all alone in this world, now I gained a friend.” He smiled slightly._

_“I also never had a family.” She whispered._

_“Are you an orphan like me?”_

_“No….. I have a father. But he was never a father to me. I…. I escaped from him. I travelled from Earth in a shuttle. I stayed hidden inside until it reached here.  And then you found me.”_

_“Why did you escape?”_

_“I will tell you everything John, but….not now. Just know that he is not a good person.”_

_“I knew it. Otherwise no one would have left their own father.”_

_“Yeah.”_

_They finished their food quietly after the conversation. Then Miranda turned to him and said in a soft tone, “Thank you again. I don’t know what I would have done if you didn’t found me. I would probably be dead by now. But I don’t want to intrude into your life anymore. Now, I must leave.”_

_“Wait. Where will you go?” he asked her._

_“I really don’t know. But……” she stopped speaking as he put his finger on her lips._

_“Stay with me.”_

_“That’s not possible John. I need to find a new home. How longer can you let me stay with you?”_

_“Forever.” He replied without hesitation._

_“Did you mean that?”_

_“Yes. Absolutely. You can stay here as long as you want.” He smiled at her. After hearing his words Miranda threw herself at him and hugged him tightly. John was taken aback by her sudden joy. Then she kissed his cheeks again causing him to turn crimson red, again._

_“Thank you, John. I… I….” she couldn’t say anything. She buried her face in his chest and cried while embracing him tightly. John didn’t know what to do at that moment, so he patted her back awkwardly._

 

                                                          Now in present time Miranda Lawson lay on her bed in her apartment in Illium, sleeping. She turned to her right side in her sleep with a soft smile on her lips. She mumbled in her sleep, “Love you John.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) Miranda and Shepard in their childhood are both matured than their age permitted.  
> 2) Please review after you read this.


	4. The Council

“Doctor? Doctor Chakwas? I think he is waking up.” John heard the female somewhere close to him. He opened his eyes slowly to find himself in the Normandy’s med-bay. He suddenly remembered the vision from the beacon and watching her die before he lost consciousness. He unsteadily sat up on the bed, still feeling a little dizzy. He rubbed his face with his palm and looked up to see that Dr. Chakwas was looking at him with a concerned expression on her face. Then he noticed another figure standing beside the Doctor – Ashley Williams was standing there, her gaze on him, with worry in her eyes.

“You had us worried there, Commander. How are you feeling?” Dr. Chakwas asked softly.

“Minor throbbing. Nothing serious. How long was I out, Doctor?” John asked her.

“About fifteen hours. Something happened down there with the beacon I think?” Chakwas enquired.

“It is my fault. I must have triggered some kind of security field when I approached it. You had to pull me out of there.” Ashley said with shame in her voice, her eyes towards the floor, not looking at John.

“You had no way to know what would happen.” John tried to lessen her guilt.

“Actually we don’t even know if that’s what set it off. Unfortunately, we will get the chance to find out.” Chakwas said.

Looking at Shepard’s confused expression, Ashley explained, “The beacon exploded. A system overload maybe. The blast knocked you out cold. The Lieutenant and me, carried you here back to the ship.”

“I appreciate that.” John thanked her. She let out a small shy smile.

“Physically, you’re fine. But I have detected some unusual brain activity, abnormal beta waves.” Dr. Chakwas informed looking at the datapad in her hands. She continued, “I also noticed an increase in your rapid eye movement, signs typically associated with intense dreaming.”

“I saw…. I’m not sure what I saw. Death. Destruction. Nothing’s really clear and…….” He stopped realizing that Ashley is still here in the med-bay listening to him. Sensing his distress, Dr. Chakwas requested Ashley, “If you don’t mind Chief, I would like to talk with my patient and have another check-up privately.”

“Sure. I will be in the mess hall if you need me.” Ashley left with a last look at John, who was looking at the floor lost in his thoughts. Chakwas observed John for few moments carefully and at last put her hand on his shoulder which brought him back from his thoughts.

“Anything else you want to talk about, Commander?” Chakwas asked knowingly.

“I saw her again Doc. It was exactly what I saw in my dream but this time I saw her after interacting with the beacon. This…. This can’t be a co-incidence. This must have meant something.” John said, his face showing the fear he was feeling inside his heart.

“What do you mean?”

“I think it’s a warning or something like that.”

“But how is that possible. This is no science, this seems to be like a fantasy.”

“I don’t know Doctor… I just don’t know. Don’t know how much longer I can keep up if this dream don’t stop. It haunts me all the time.”

“Commander, I know it is difficult. But you should stop worrying about this dream. Maybe the vision about her, you are telling me, may be nothing. It can happen because of stress, fatigue and you constantly think about her. This… This is not healthy.”

“It’s not that I am thinking about her 24X7, but it’s true that she is always in my mind. Maybe, you are right, Doctor. I will try follow to your advice.”

 

Dr. Karin Chakwas have never seen a man like John Shepard before in her life. He was unlike any other man. His honesty, bravery, skills, caring for his team-mates – all these qualities are known to all. But she only have the privilege to know how good his heart is, how much pain he feels and how he always remains in fear that, he will lose the only the woman he ever loved with every fiber of his being. She knows nothing about the woman whom he cares about, more than anything else in his life or whether that woman still loves back or not but observing him and realizing the depth of his feelings for that unknown woman always makes her astonished. From what he explained to her, they known each other for 4-5 years and after that they never met again. But he still longs for her as is she is his sanity, his world or his every soul. She wondered how he can care about her that much after all these years. It’s natural that, being separated for so many years the connection between two people slowly cease to exist, no matter how strong the connection between them was. But in his case the opposite happened. This fact always confuses her because this isn’t normal. She realized the man sitting in front of her is slowly losing his will to live on. For his sake he must find her quickly and if that breaks his heart, he will be destroyed for sure. Dr. Chakwas thought that her assumptions may sound pathetic but it’s true. She looked at him, sitting on the bed looking at the floor, his eyes unfocused and deep in his thoughts. She decided to pull him out of his brooding and she knew exactly how to do that. John Shepard is a hero, fearless man and one of the best soldier of Alliance. He never gets nervous or loses his hope in combat. He completes his missions with determinations and purpose. But one thing always makes him nervous and she knew why. A woman’s affection towards him always makes him nervous because if that happens he thinks that he is somehow betraying the woman he loves. This sounded ridiculous but that is John Shepard.

“It seems Chief Williams fancy you Commander.” She said a little loudly.

“What?” He looked at her with disbelief in his eyes. She chuckled at the bewildered expression on his face. He frowned realizing that the Doctor was just teasing him.

“Hmmm. I better add this to my report.” She murmured to herself. “And Commander….. Oh! Captain Anderson.” Anderson entered the med-bay with his hands behind his back and his gaze on John.

“How’s our XO doing, Doctor?” Anderson asked.

“All the readings look normal. I’d say the Commander is going to be fine.” Dr. Chakwas informed.

“Good to hear it.” Then Anderson looked at John and said, “Shepard, I need to speak with you… in private.”

“I will come back later.” Dr. Chakwas said and walked out from the med-bay giving the Captain and the Commander some privacy. Anderson turned towards John after the med-bay door closed behind the Doctor. “Sounds like that beacon hit you pretty hard, Commander. You sure you’re okay?” Anderson asked.

“I am alright. But I don’t like soldiers dying under my command.” John said bitterly.

“Jenkin’s wasn’t your fault. You did a great job Shepard.” Anderson said.

“So, Chief Williams part of the Normandy crew now?” John asked changing the subject. He was still pretty much upset about Jenkin’s death.

“I figured we could use a soldier like her. She’s been reassigned to the Normandy.”

“Williams is a good soldier. She deserves it.”

“Lieutenant Alenko agrees with you. That’s why I added her to our crew.”

“Ah… you said you needed to talk me with private, Captain?” John asked wondering what happened now.

“I won’t lie to you Shepard. Things look bad. Nihlus is dead. The beacon is destroyed and the Geth are invading. The Council’s going to want answers.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong Captain. Hopefully, the Council can see that.”

“I’ll stand behind you and your report Shepard. You’re a damn hero in my books. That’s not why I am here. It’s Saren, the other turian.” Anderson said with slight worry in his voice. He continued, “Saren’s a Spectre, one of the best. A living legend. But if he’s working with the Geth, it means he’s gone rogue. A rogue Spectre is trouble. Saren is dangerous and he hate humans.”

“You are telling that he only came to Eden Prime because he hate humans?”

“Not entirely. Saren has allied himself with the Geth. I don’t know how. I don’t know why. But it had something to do with the beacon. You were there just before it self-destructed. Did you see anything? Any clue that might tell us what Saren was after?”

“Just before I lost consciousness, I had some kind of vision.”

“A vision? A vision of what?”

“I saw synthetics. Geth, maybe. Slaughtering people. Butchering them. And there were many mother ships like the one we saw in Eden Prime.”

“We need to report this to the Council, Shepard.” Anderson said. John rubbed his face in frustration because he knew the Council won’t believe them since he has nothing to show them, the vision he saw.

“What are we going to tell them? I had a bad dream?” John sighed.

“We don’t know what information was stored in the beacon. Lost Prothean technology? Blueprints for some ancient weapon of mass destruction? Whatever it was, Saren took it. But I know Saren. I know his reputation, his politics. He believes humans are a blight on the galaxy. The attack was an act of war. He has the secrets from the beacon. He has an army of Geth at his command and he won’t stop until he wiped humanity from the face of the galaxy.” Anderson explained.

"I will find some way to take him down." John said with his jaws clenched in anger. It's only because of Saren hundreds of lives were lost on Eden Prime.

"It's not that easy. He is a Spectre. He can go anywhere, do almost anything. That's why we need the Council on our side."

"We prove Saren's gone rogue and the Council will revoke his Spectre status."

"I'll contact the ambassador and see if he can get us an audience with the Council. He will want us to see as soon as we reach the Citadel. We should be getting close. Head up to the bridge and tell Joker to bring us to the dock." Andersin ordered and left the med-bay. John followed him out after few seconds. On his way to the bridge he met Ashley, who was standing with her back leaning against the wall and arms crossed over her chest. She greeted him warmly when she saw him leaving the med-bay.

"I am glad you are okay, Commander. The crew could use some good news after what happened to Jenkins." She said.

"Jenkins was a valuable part of the crew and a friend." John told her.

"Part of me feels guilty over what happened. If Jenkins was still alive, I might not be here." She said with her head bowed.

"You're a good soldier Williams. You belong on the Normandy." John praised her. Ashley's cheeks turned red with his praise. She hoped he didn't notice. She was thankful that the red light in the mess hall is falling on her face, hiding her blush from the Commander. She quickly composed herself and replied to him, "Thanks Commander. That means a lot from you. I have never met anyone who was awarded the Star of Terra."

"There's nothing special about me Williams. I am just a soldier like others."

"Held off an entire enemy platoon? Alone? With all due respect Commander, I think you've got somebody watching over you." She said with a smile. John couldn't have agreed more with anything else. Yes, he has an angel somewhere out there, watching over him. She is his strength, spirit, his life, his will to go on and everything else. He quickly switched the subject because he didn't want to think about her although she hardly leave his mind.

"Things were pretty rough down there. Are you okay?" John asked Ashley.

"I've seen friends die before. Comes with being a marine. But to see my whole unit wiped out....... And you never get used seeing dead civilians. But things would have been a lot worse if you hadn't shown up."

"We couldn't have done it without you Williams." John said honestly.

"Thanks Commander. I have to admit, I was a little worried being assigned to the Normandy. It's nice when someone makes you feel welcome." She said and realized she was blushing again.

"I think you are going to fit in here just fine, Williams." Shepard said and headed towards the cockpit to talk with Joker.

 

 

**_ILLIUM ETERNITY BAR_ **

A girl no older than seventeen was seated in a table with a bald man in front of her. She was looking anxiously looking towards the entrance waiting for someone. The man was tapping the table in front of him absent mindedly with his fingers. After waiting fifteen more minutes like that, the girl got irritates. Frustration was evident on her face. She looked towards the man in front of her and asked irritably,

"Have you told her that I want to meet her, here, now?"

"Yeah. I did. Why wouldn't I?"

"Then why is she so late? She is never late and by so much time. She always came before me whenever we met."

"I dunno! Maybe......" The man stopped noticing a woman entering the bar. She looked around a bit searching and when her eyes fell on them, her eyes lit up. At that time, the girl also noticed the woman. A huge smile appeared on the girl's face. She immediately stood up from her chair and embraced the woman tightly when she approached their table. The girl murmured still embracing the woman, "Randa....."

The woman also murmured embracing the girl tightly, "Ori....."

"Randa, I am glad to see you sis! How are you?" Oriana asked her elder sister.

"I am okay Ori. Why did you want to meet me? Is everything alright? Did father...." Miranda was stopped in mid-sentence by her sister.

"Relax Randa. Everything is fine. Can't I meet my sister without any reason?" Oriana asked with a frown.

"Of course you can. I just.... I love you Ori. You are the only family I have. I can't lose you too."

Sensing the change in her sister's mood she tried to assure her elder sister that she will not lose her. She will always have her. _But what did Randa meant by that she can't lose her too? Who did she referred, other than her? Did she had another sister, whom she didn't know about or their mother about whom she knew nothing?_ Oriana thought. In the meantime Miranda composed herself and greeted her old friend Niket.

"Niket. Is everything alright with you?" Miranda asked her old friend with a small smile.

"Yes. I hope you are doing well too, Miri." Niket said. He continued, "Unfortunately, I have some other business to attend to. If you don't mind then..."

"Don't worry Niket. I will take Ori to her home." Miranda said. Then Niket was gone after saying Oriana goodbye.

"So Ori, how is your school going?" Miranda asked.

"Ah. It is going pretty well actually and sis there is a man watching you since you arrived. He is sitting just behind you."

"I noticed. Don't worry about him. But you know I am getting suspicious regarding your answer." Miranda said looking at her sister carefully.

Oriana frowned. "What do you mean?"

Miranda asked softly, "Are you dating someone?"

Oriana blushed deeply. "No... Um. Not really. But I like him. His name is Adrian Gibson."

"Ori, I won't lecture you to stay away from the boys in your school. But whatever you do be careful.” She stopped and said again, “But I will have to investigate about this boy first. Then if I find out that everything is okay, I may give you my permission." Miranda smirked. Oriana's eyes widened in disbelief. "You wouldn't dare." She said.

"Watch me." Miranda said simply and Oriana hid her face in her hands frustrated with her sister's overprotectiveness. After few seconds she calmed down when Miranda send her a file of a collection of Oriana's favorite music through her omni-tool. Oriana smiled happily at her sister and exclaimed, "How did you get this collection, Randa?"

"I have my ways." Miranda smiled at her sister.

"But this does not make up for what you did, Randa. Since I told you about my love life, you have to tell me about yours. You always avoided the topic whenever I asked you about it before. But this time I am not letting you get away. You have to tell me, now." Oriana demanded answer from her older sister. Miranda didn't say anything, only a single tear dropped from her eye. Oriana became immediately concerned at her sister’s change of mood. She stood up from her chair and brought it beside her sister and sat down holding Miranda's hands in hers. "What's wrong Randa? Did I hurt you? If I did I am sorry."

"No Ori. You didn't hurt me. It's just that...." Miranda tried to say but her heart was breaking again after thinking about him.

"Randa from your behavior I can say that something is seriously wrong with you. I saw in all these years how many men lusted after you and some of them even genuinely cared about you. But you never reciprocated their feelings. Why Randa? Don't you believe in love?"

"I do." Miranda replied softly.

"Then? Why didn't you get in any relationships in all these time? And a few minutes earlier you said that you can't lose me too. What do you mean by that sis?"

"Ori, I have never talked about this with anyone else ever. I don't know what you will think but...."

"Tell me Randa." Oriana said after putting a hand on Miranda's shoulder showing her support.

"Let's get to my apartment. I will tell you everything there." Miranda said.

 

 

 

 

 

**_CITADEL AMBASSADOR UDINA’S OFFICE_ **

"This is an outrage! The council would step in if the Geth attacked a turian colony!" Udina said angrily.

"The turians don't found colonies on the border of the Terminus system, Ambassador." Said the Salarian councilor.

"Humanity was well aware of the risks when you went into the Traverse." The Asari councilor added.

"What about Saren? You can't just ignore a rogue Spectre. I demand action!" Said Udina raising his voice a little.

"You don't get to make demands of the Council, Ambassador." The turian councilor replied coolly.

"Citadel security is investigating your charges against Saren. We will discuss the C-Sec findings at the hearing. Not before." The Asari councilor added.

Udina was about to argue but stopped at the sound of the door opening behind him and saw Anderson entering his office with his crew.

"Captain Anderson, I see you have brought half your crew with you." Said Udina.

"Just the ground team from Eden Prime. In case you have any questions." Anderson replied calmly.

"I have the mission reports. I assume they are accurate?"

"They are. Sounds like you convinced the Council to give us an audience." Anderson praised Udina knowingly.

"They were not happy about it. Saren is their top agent. They don't like him being accused of treason." Udina said with a frown on his face.

"Saren's a threat to every human colony out there. If they don't stop him, I will!" John said with purpose.

"Settle down Commander. You have already done more than enough to jeopardize your candidacy for the Spectres. The mission on Eden Prime was a chance to prove you could get the job done. Instead, Nihlus ended up dead and the beacon was destroyed!" Udina said with a bit of anger in his voice.

"That's Saren's fault, not his!" Anderson defended John. Udina looked at Ashley and Kaidan for confirmation. They nodded their head indicating what Anderson said is true. Udina calmed down a bit.

"Then we better hope the C-Sec investigation turns up evidence to support our accusations. Otherwise the Council might use this as an excuse to keep you out of the Spectres. Come with me captain. I want to go over a few things before the hearing. Shepard – you and the others can meet us at the Citadel Tower. Top level. I’ll make sure you have clearance to get in." Udina informed them and left with Anderson.

“That’s why I hate politicians.” Ashley murmured.

 

****

**_CITADEL TOWER_ **

“Saren’s hiding something! Give me more time. Stall them.” A blue armored turian said to Executor Pallin.

“Stall the Council? Don’t be ridiculous! Your investigation is over Garrus.” The Executor declared and left.

Garrus saw John and his team approaching. He approached them. “Commander Shepard? Garrus Vakarian. I was the officer in charge of the C-Sec investigation into Saren.” Garrus said.

“You came across anything I should know about?” John asked the turian.

“Saren’s a Spectre. Most of his activities are classified. I couldn’t find anything solid. But I know he’s up to something. Like you humans say, I feel it in my gut.” Garrus said.

“I think the Council’s ready for us, Commander.” Kaidan interrupted.

“Good luck, Commander. Maybe they will listen to you.” Garrus said and left. John watched Garrus go. He sighed. This is more complicated than he thought. He watched Anderson was waiting for them at the stairs. They moved forward towards Anderson.

“The hearing’s already started. Come on.” Anderson said. When they approached the Council John saw Saren was also there in a hologram.

“The geth attack is a matter of some concern. But there is nothing to indicate that Saren was involved in any way.” The Asari councilor said.

“The investigation by Citadel Security turned up no evidence to support your charge of treason.” The turian councilor added.

“An eyewitness saw him kill Nihlus in cold blood!” Udina argued.

“We have read the Eden Prime reports, Ambassador. The testimony of one traumatized dockworker is hardly compelling proof.” The Salarian councilor said.

“I resent these accusations. Nihlus was a fellow Spectre and a friend.” Saren denied the accusations on him through the hologram.

“That just let you catch him off-guard!” Anderson said.

“Captain Anderson. You always seem to be involved when humanity makes false charges against me.” Saren countered. He continued, “And this must be your protégé, Commander Shepard. The one who let the beacon get destroyed.”

“You are the one who destroyed the beacon and then you tried to cover it up.” John said angrily.

“Shift the blame to cover your own failures, just like Captain Anderson. He’s taught you well. But what can you expect from a human?” Saren said evilly.

“Saren despises humanity. That’s why he attacked the Eden Prime!” John said desperately hoping the Council could see through Saren’s lies.

“Your species need to learn its place, Shepard. You’re not ready to join the Council. You’re not even ready to join the Spectres!” Saren said sarcastically.

“He has no right to say that! That’s not his decision!” Udina said outraged.

“Shepard’s admission into Spectres is not the purpose of this meeting.” Said the Asari Councilor.

“This meeting has no purpose. The humans are wasting your time, Councilor and mine.” Saren said.

“You can’t hide behind the Council forever!” John said with an angry voice.

“There is still one outstanding issue: Commander Shepard’s vision. It may have been triggered by the beacon.” Anderson added.

“Are we allowing dreams into evidence now? How can I defend my innocence against this kind of testimony?” Saren argued.

“I agree. Our judgement must be based on the facts and evidence, not wild imaginings and reckless speculation.” The turian councilor declared. Anderson frowned and looked towards John. John gave him a look which said, _I told you so._

“You have made your decision. I won’t waste my breath.” John said defeated.

“The council has found no evidence of any connection between Saren and the geth. Ambassador, your petition to have him disbarred from the Spectres is denied.” The Asari councilor made the decision.

“I am glad to see justice was served.” Saren said and his hologram picture disappeared after he directed an evil smirk towards John which gone unnoticed by the Council.

“The meeting is adjourned.” Said the Asari councilor ending the hearing.

“It was a mistake bringing you into that hearing, Captain. You and Saren have too much history. It made the Council question our motives.” Udina said.

“I know Saren. He’s working with the geth for one reason: to exterminate the entire human race. Every colony we have is at risk. Every world we control is in danger. Even Earth isn’t safe.” Anderson said.

“What happened between you and Saren?” John asked curios.

“I worked with him in a mission a long time ago. Things went bad. Real bad. We shouldn’t talk about this here. But I know what he’s like. And he has to be stopped.” Anderson answered with worry in his tone.

“So, what will be our next step?” John asked.

“As a Spectre, he’s virtually untouchable. We need to find some way to expose him.” Udina said tapping his chin and trying to think of some way to expose Saren to the Council.

“What about Garrus, that C-Sec investigator? We saw him arguing with the executor.” Kaidan stepped in.

“That’s right! He was asking for more time to finish his report. Seems like he was close to finding something on Saren.” Ashley added.

“Any idea where can we find Garrus?” John asked.

“I have a contact in C-Sec who can help us track Garrus down. His name is Harkin.” Udina said.

“Forget it. They suspended Harkin last month. Drinking on the job. I won’t waste my time with that loser.” Anderson intervened.

“You won’t have to. I don’t want the Council using your past history with Saren as an excuse to ignore anything we turn up. Shepard will handle this.” Udina advised.

“You can’t just cut Captain Anderson out of this investigation.” John protested immediately.

“Wait Shepard. The ambassador’s right. I need to step aside.” Anderson stopped John from arguing further.

“I need to take care of some business. Captain, meet me in my office later.” Udina left.

Anderson turned towards John and said, “Harkin’s probably getting drunk at Chora’s Den. It’s a dingy little club in the lower section of the wards.”

“I thought you said he was a drunken loser.” John said, surprised.

“Couldn’t hurt to go and talk with him. Just be careful. I wouldn’t call him reliable.” Anderson explained and John nodded in understanding.

“So, can you explain now, what happened in that mission with Saren?” John asked.

“Yes. I guess you must know about Saren as much as you can know about. He’s dangerous.” Then Anderson explained twenty years ago in the mission in the Skyllian Verge he worked with Saren to remove a terrorist threat. Saren eliminated the target but he was reckless, violent and liked killing, which resulted the death of many innocent lives. John just listened carefully about Saren but didn’t say anything. From what he heard if they didn’t take any step soon many more innocent lives will be lost. So he didn’t waste any time.

“I should go now and look for Harkin. We need to know what Garrus found out about Saren. We need him.” John said.

“Very well. I wish you luck Commander. If you need me for anything, I will be at the Ambassador’s office.” Anderson shook hands with John and left. John turned to his team and said, “Let’s find our friend.”

“Aye, Aye, Commader.” Kaidan and Ashley said in unison.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry for being late to update this story. As I said before I will continue this story after I finished the Witcher story. But somehow I managed to write this chapter. The Witcher story still has one more chapter left which I am currently working on and it will take a little bit of time to complete the last chapter. After I complete it I will concentrate on this story more. And please don’t forget to review. J


	5. Innocent times

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, here is the update on Miri and John's past. I hope you like it. Review if you want.

"So, 'Randa tell me now, what you promised. Your childhood is a mystery to me." Oriana complained.

"Yeah…. Actually no one know about that part of my life…. not even Niket." Miranda whispered.

"'Randa did you two… I mean you and Niket…" Oriana asked hesitantly.

"No. I have never even considered that. He is just my friend whom I can trust." Miranda answered.

"Then who was it… I mean every time I asked you about your mystery lover, you never answered me." Oriana asked.

"He wasn't my lover. We were not intimate because we were too young. We just loved each other with everything we had." Miranda said and lowered her head.

"What was his name? How was he? I mean was he good to you?" Oriana questioned.

"His name was John…. just John and he was the best thing that ever happened to me. But good things never Ori, at least in case of me."

"How did you two met?"

Miranda then explained to her sister how she first met John and immediately a great bond of trust and friendship formed between them when she agreed to stay with him.

"So you stayed with him and he never questioned you about your identity? I mean apart from your name."

"No, he didn't. He said that he trusted me enough to believe that I will tell him once I was ready."

"Wow! Can someone be really that good and trusting?" Oriana said with surprise.

"I didn't believed that either, until I met him." There was a sad smile on Miranda's face when she talked about trust.

"But what about his biotics? You said that he kind of transformed into something else."

"No… not really transformed. He was still the same but…. I cannot explain it to you Ori because I don't know how to describe it. I studied everything I could find, but there's nothing about that kind of biotic power. His powers were incredible…."

"So, you fell in love with him at first sight?" Oriana teased.

Miranda's cheeks turned pinkish at her sister's teasing as old memories came rushing inside her mind. "I was too young to realize that. But when I grew old I realized that it was true. I really fell in love with him at first sight even I was too young to realize my feelings." She said embarrassed.

"Was he handsome?" Oriana smirked.

"More than you can imagine." Miranda smiled shyly, her cheeks were now fully red from embarrassment.

Oriana chuckled watching her sister blushing. "Stop it Ori. Or…. or I am leaving." Miranda said.

"Okay, okay… I won't laugh again. Please continue sis."

"Hmph!" Miranda said with a little annoyance.

/

**MINDOIR COLONY**

_Miranda lay on her bed, her gaze towards the ceiling of the room, where she and John lived. Many thoughts were clouding her mind, so she was getting less sleep for the last two weeks. When noticed this a few days ago, he asked her what was troubling her, but instead of answering she snapped at him and at that moment she saw hurt flickered over his face but he composed himself so she couldn't notice it. Little did he know that he couldn't hide anything from her, ever. She hated herself for hurting him, hurting the only person who cared for her and given her everything he possessed without hesitating for a moment. She couldn't help it though. For the last few days she was fighting with her own heart and she was too emotional because during nights her dreams are being haunted by her father, Henry Lawson, who was never kind to her, never spoke to her politely and never looked at her as his daughter. Hell, he didn't even acknowledged that she was a human being. He just treated her as a lab rat and always beat her up when she failed to do the tasks she was asked to do. Often during the nights she cried alone in her bed unable to sleep because of the bruises she used to get from her father. Also her home was a prison for her, no it wasn't her home. It was her father's home. Her home is here, with John. When she realized that Henry Lawson could never be a father to her because that man is simply a monster. Now, she is almost fearful that he will find her again and after that god knows, what he will do to her and to her John. She is troubled because of her father's thoughts and there is also another reason….. John._

_He was the first person to ever show kindness to her, treated her as a normal human being and he is the only one who cared for her, truly and deeply. She knew that he looked towards her as his best friend and she did the same but not anymore. The problem was she is falling in love with him, deeply and hopelessly. She realized her true feelings for him two weeks ago and from that time she was restless. That handsome, innocent face, those clear blue eyes which can see through her anytime, his silly jokes to lighten her mood whenever she was depressed over something and most of all his trust and goodness._

_When they first met, he asked her whether she trusted him or not and she answered yes. She meant that whole-heartedly. Trust was never the factor behind her hesitation to tell him about who….. no what she is for four years. The real reason was that she was frightened that once he learned the truth about her, he won't look towards her anymore and end their friendship, forever. She won't be able to take that, not now, not ever. She loved him far too much and she is already so much dependent on him that it frightened her what she will do if she'd lose him. He gave her the space she needed and she was beyond grateful for that. But this cannot go on forever, he must know about her, what she truly is and after that if he didn't want her to stay here anymore, she will leave him, even if it destroys her because it will be better to stay away from him than he watching her with disgust in his eyes. This may sound ridiculous that a fifteen year old girl is thinking about love, not just any kind of attraction or affection but Miranda is much more advanced for her age. But first things first, she have to tell him now._

" _John….." she murmured._

_He looked up hearing his name from her lips and left whatever he was doing and came to her side at once. He stayed at the edge of the bed looking at her with questioning eyes when she didn't say anything. He looked at her misted eyes and took her small hands in his own. "What's wrong Miri?" He asked kindly looking directly at her eyes. For few moments Miranda couldn't answer him while looking at his eyes. When he let her hands go and cupped her face with his hands she finally broke from her trance. He spoke again, "Miri, tell me what you are feeling. You know, you can tell me anything. I cannot see you like this… it…it pains me to see you like this." Her eyes watered hearing how much he really cared about her and she just caused him pain._

" _I am sorry, John." She said in a broken voice._

" _You are sorry? But why?" He asked, confused._

" _For snapping at you…. For not telling you about myself for all these years." She apologized._

" _Miri, you were not in your right mind. I sensed that and you don't have to tell me anything until you are ready." He gave her a reassuring smile. But what she said next, totally surprised him._

" _I am ready now. Will you listen?" She asked softly._

" _Always." He said instantly._

_So, Miranda started telling him about herself, how she was created by her father, how her father mistreated her. He was listening to her intently without uttering a single word but when she mentioned how her father tortured her, his face hardened and all the calmness from his face was gone in an instant. He closed his eyes and grabbed the chair so tightly in his hands that his knuckles turned white. Miranda yelped in surprise when the chair broke from his strength. Her eyes widened when he opened his eyes. She saw that his eyes were not normal anymore, it was blue and glowing inhumanly. He was shaking in fury. Strangely his anger didn't create any fear within her because she knew that whatever happens he will never hurt her, never. She cupped his face and said, "John, look at me. I am here with you and I am okay." She tried to calm him down. He looked towards her intently for few seconds and closed his eyes. His eyes were normal when he opened them again._

" _I am sorry John….. I am so sorry." She sobbed. "I didn't tell you this before for only one reason – I cannot lose you. But I couldn't keep this secret from you anymore. So, if you want me to leave, I will….." Miranda stopped when John engulfed her in a tight embrace and buried his face in her hair. "Don't… don't say that Miri. There is no John without Miri."_

" _I won't say it again, John. I won't." She said._

" _I understand why you didn't tell me about yourself earlier. And believe me, I somehow knew that something terrible happened to you which made you leave your home." He said still clutching her tightly to him._

_Miranda felt safe and loved in his embrace. She hid her face at the crook of his neck and started sobbing loudly as all of her past memories came crashing back inside her mind. He let her cry and held her tightly in his arms. After few moments Miranda spoke, "How you are not watching me with disgust after hearing what I am? I am nothing…. I am just… There's nothing good about me. My looks, my intelligence all was engineered from the best genes money could buy."_

" _How can I ever look at you with disgust? How can anyone? It doesn't matter to me how you were born. I don't care. And I think, you are giving your father too much credit. It's true that he paid money for your gifts but it was you who used your gifts in right way and effectively. He has no credit in that. So, now look at you. You have knowledge of almost any subjects. Did you knew this things when you were born?"_

_She shook her head negatively._

" _No, you didn't. But you used your gifts to learn them and you did it without anyone's help. It's all your credit. Besides all when I look at you I look at the most beautiful girl I had ever seen, who took care of me, who showed kindness to me, supported me, stood up with me in every step of my life since she came."_

" _Really?" She smiled with watery eyes. "That's how you see me?"_

" _Yeah and more. The most beautiful part of you is not your physical beauty, it's your heart Miri. It's…. Just remember you are the most amazing person in this galaxy." Then he leaned towards her and kissed her cheeks._

_Miranda was stunned because he never kissed her before even on her cheeks. Her cheeks turned red and all the dam she built around her heart to conceal her love for him broke away in a mere second. She grabbed his face and kissed him fully on his lips taking him completely by surprise. When she broke the kiss for air, she realized what she had done. She looked at him and saw that he was looking at her dumbfounded, his eyes were wide like saucers._

" _I… I am sorry." She stuttered looking away from him. What had she done, she had probably ruined the friendship they had. But her thoughts froze when she felt a finger under her chin. John turned her face around towards him. The he pressed his lips on hers, lightly at first and when she started to respond by throwing her arms around his neck, they started to kiss each other passionately._

" _John, I….." Miranda tried to say when she broke the kiss but she was cut off by John._

" _I love you." He said without any hesitation. He said what he felt for her for the past year. He finally let it out. Miranda froze hearing his declaration. Watching her expression, John regretted it immediately. Why did he say it? What will she think?_

_At the same time, Miranda was thinking the same thing because she never imagined that he would return her feelings. But now hearing his declaration, she couldn't hold on to her feelings anymore. So, she kissed him again. She uttered the words she felt for him in her heart, "I love you too." Next thing she knew she was in his tight embrace with his face buried in her hair._

" _I cannot…. cannot express to you how happy I am Miri. I…. God! I love you! Love you!" He murmured._

_She replied, "I love you too John. More than anything else in this galaxy." She stayed in his embrace feeling happy with her head lying in his shoulders. At that moment she promised to herself that she won't ever let him get away from her._

_After confessing their feelings John and Miri became more inseparable than ever. Often during the nights, when any of them had nightmares they would crawl into the others bed and sleep there embracing each other. Six months passed happily without incident…. but good things didn't last for them longer….._

**[/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\]**

_"Mhm, mmmm! Miri..." John mumbled in his sleep as Miranda rained light kisses all over his face to wake him up. After few more kisses he finally opened his eyes to see that Miranda is watching him with amusement and a smile tugging at the corner of her lips._

_"I loved the way you woke me up." He mumbled._

_"Nice to hear that. But won't you go the shop today? It's past 9 A.M. already." She said._

_"Mhm. I will, once I get my daily morning reward."_

_"What?" She asked puzzled._

_"Where is my morning kiss?" He pouted._

_She laughed out loud and shook her head watching his silly smile. "You are such a baby." She said, swatting his chest. He shrugged. Realizing that he won't get up until she kisses him, she bent down quickly and kissed his cheeks. She stood up from the bed to prepare the breakfast but he caught her wrist and pulled her down on top of him. She fell down with a shriek. Then he kissed her on her lips for a full minute and she didn't protest. She returned the kiss happily._

_"You satisfied now?" She asked breaking the kiss._

_"No." He replied._

_"What?" She frowned._

_"I can never get enough of you Miri. Being around you, I always want to kiss you." He said smiling._

_"Really. So now get up and get ready. If you be a good boy, maybe you will get one more when you return." Then she pushed him inside the bathroom to get ready._

_She was in the kitchen preparing breakfast when she suddenly heard people screaming outside in the streets. She walked towards the door to find out what was going on. She was about to open the door when John stopped her and started to drag her away from the door._

" _John…. what are you doing? Let me see….." She said, surprised by his actions._

" _No. We need to leave. Now." He cut her off abruptly._

" _What? Why?" She was totally confused now._

" _It's the slavers. They have come to abduct people from the colony. Come on, we don't have time to waste." He urged her to hurry. Miranda quickly gathered some necessary things and they ran towards the door. They were only a few feet away from the door when it opened and four slavers came inside. John and Miranda quickly hid themselves from their eyes. They saw from their hidden spot, the slavers searching their place for signs of them. When they couldn't found anyone, one of them produced a strange device on his hand and started to type on it rapidly, watching its readings. "We have someone hiding in here, one human. Search the place thoroughly." They immediately resumed their search._

_John and Miranda watched everything. John couldn't figure out why their machine detected only one person in the house instead of two. He turned towards Miranda and saw that she was drenched from head to toe and shivering. It seems somehow the entire bowl of water that was on the table fell on top of her somehow when they hid here. Then something clicked inside his mind and he suddenly realized why the slavers couldn't detect her presence. Their scanners are useless against water. He looked towards her frightened face and made a decision, he must save her, no matter what happens to him. He knew that one of them have to make the sacrifice, otherwise they both will get caught. He felt torn inside his heart at the thought of never seeing her again but if it means that she will be safe, he will gladly do it. He turned towards her slowly and cupped her face, "Miri…. Promise me something." He whispered._

" _Anything John…. anything." She replied softly watching him._

" _Promise me that you won't show yourself to them, no matter what." He pleaded._

" _No absolutely not. I know what you are thinking. John I… Mmph!" She was cut off by his lips on hers._

" _I love you." He whispered and then he was gone from her side._

" _No…. Don't do it. Please, no." She pleaded but he was already gone. She watched how he led the slavers away from her by exposing himself to them. He ran outside and the slavers followed him. Even her heart was screaming to follow him, she couldn't because that selfless ass made her promise to him that she will stay here hidden. After few minutes she heard gunfire outside in the streets and heard voices of humans. She left her hidden place and peeked outside. There were many soldiers dressed in blue armors escorting injured people to safety. She saw a middle aged female marine standing behind watching everything. She is probably the Captain, Miranda realized. She went running towards the woman. At the sound of her footsteps the elderly woman turned around to meet her._

" _What happened child? Are you okay?" She asked Miranda kindly._

" _They took John. They took him. Please save him. Please. I beg you." Miranda pleaded._

_At the mention of John's name her eyes widened and Miranda saw fear in the elderly woman's eyes. "What did you say his name was?" She asked as if she couldn't believe her own ears._

" _John. Just John. Please find him. I…."_

" _When did they took him?" The elderly woman's expression is now stern._

" _A few minutes ago. I don't really know how. He told me to hide and I…"_

" _I understand child…. I know how selfless he can be. He got that trait from his father…" She murmured to herself. Miranda seems confused. She realized that this woman knew something about John's parents. She was about to speak but the Captain stopped her. "I know you may have a lot of questions. But this is not the time. I must hurry. Otherwise it will be too late to save him. You stay here, you will be safe. The whole colony is being watched upon by Alliance soldiers." And then she was gone shouting orders at the soldiers. Soon they boarded their fleet and went after the slavers vessel. Miranda watched them go. She still have some hope left that John will come back… he will come back to her. But next thing she felt a hand covering her mouth and someone pressed something under her nose and blackness engulfed her._

/

_**PRESENT TIME** _

"Next when I regained consciousness I found myself restrained and Henry Lawson was there in front of me." Miranda said clenching her teeth.

Oriana gasped. "So it was father's men….. But how did they kidnapped you amongst all those alliance soldiers?"

"I don't know but I have an idea. It's unimportant. The thing is….. I lost him that day, Ori." Miranda said in a broken voice.

"'Randa have faith. I know the depth of your love for him, it will bring him back to you one day." Oriana tried to sooth her sister.

"You are reading too much love stories." Miranda teased still with tears in her eyes.

Oriana shrugged. Then she saw something on her sister's computer which was left open. "Wow! 'Randa, look at that." She said.

Miranda turned to look at her computer. There was a news playing on the extranet. The reporters are saying "The first human Spectre is chosen? Yes it has been done. Commander Shepard has become the first human Spectre." Then a photo of Shepard was shown on the screen.

Oriana looked dreamily at the screen. Watching her sister's stare, Miranda got curios, "What are you looking at?"

"Isn't he handsome? I mean look at him. Those broad chest and shoulders, those abs, biceps and that face. Who will be fortunate enough to have him?" Oriana said dreamily.

"He is too old for you Ori." Miranda pointed out. "But, yeah maybe he is a little handsome."

"Maybe a little handsome? Are you nuts sis? He is the most desired man in the galaxy. Even Asaris desires him."

Miranda looked away. She felt strange whenever she looked at Commander Shepard in the news or extranet. What her sister said is true. He is really the most handsome man she had ever seen but sometimes she felt that somehow she knew him and those blue eyes, they were….. just like _his_ eyes.

"'Randa you there." Oriana said waving her hand in front of Miranda's face.

"What?" Miranda asked.

"Nothing, you seemed to be thinking about something for a while." Oriana said.

"It was nothing. I was thinking about my work because I have much work to do." Miranda lied.

"Alright, if you say so." Oriana didn't believed her sister entirely.

"It's time to take you to your home, Ori. I have to leave now." Miranda said.

"Okay. Let's…. but when will I see you again?" Oriana asked.

"Soon… Ori… soon." Miranda smiled and they both slowly left her place.

/


	6. I am John Shepard

John and his team reached Chora's Den to look for Harkin. Inside the club they saw two krogans arguing. One of them was wearing red armor and had scars all over his face. From their conversation John came to know that the name of the krogan in red armor was Wrex. Then Wrex left the conversation and walked out from the club pushing John aside.

"What was that about?" Kaidan asked.

"Who knows? Let's just try not to get caught in the middle." Ashley shrugged.

After searching for few minutes the trio finally spotted Harkin, sitting at a table at the dark corner of the club. He looked up when they approached him.

"Alliance military. Hmph. I coulda been a marine you know. Instead I joined the goddamned Citadel Security. Biggest mistake of my life." Harkin babbled.

"Cut the crap out. I am not interested in your business. I am looking for a C-Sec officer. A turian named Garrus." John said irritably.

"Garrus? Ha! You must be one of Captain Anderson's crew. Poor bastard's still trying to bring Saren down, eh?" He smirked.

"None of your goddamned business." John growled. Then he grabbed Harkin by his collar and lifted him off his feet from the ground. "I don't have time for your bullshit. Tell me where to find Garrus." John said coldly.

Everyone at the club was now aware of John holding Harkin up with one hand. People whispered among themselves but watching their uniform they didn't came forward. "Isn't that Commander Shepard?"

"Yes. It's him."

"Oh god! He is strong and handsome."

"Do you think he has a girlfriend?" Whispered followed John like always mainly among female population. Kaidan almost face-palmed himself, almost. Ashley was looking annoyed.

"Alright. Alright. Just let me down." Harkin stuttered. John let him down. Harkin continued, "Garrus was sniffing around Dr. Michel's office. She runs the med clinic on the other side of the wards. Last I heard, he was going back there."

John turned towards his teammates and signalled them to follow him.

"Anderson is not who you think. He has many secrets. Do you know that he was a Spectre?" harkin shouted behind them. John stopped and glanced at Harkin over his shoulder with a glare which made him shut up. The trio continued their walk.

"I see why this place is so popular. It's got quite the, uh, view." Kaidan said looking at the Asari dancers. Next second he let out a "Ouch!" as Ashley pinched him hard. Kaidan saw that Ashley was glaring at him.

"What it's true. I mean…. What do you say Comman…..? Where did he go?" Kaidan said as they couldn't see their Commander anywhere.

"There…." Ashley spotted him far away. He was already outside the club and walking towards the elevator. Ashley and Kaidan hurried to catch up with him. "Look at the attention the Commander got from the ladies but he never even glance at them. Dunno why." He murmured.

"Maybe he's got a girlfriend or wife." Ashley added.

"No. He neither have a girlfriend, nor a wife." Kaidan said looking at John's back who was walking at front of them but he didn't missed the expression of satisfaction that ran over Ashley's face when he mentioned that Shepard has no girlfriend. He smirked.

"Why are you so bothered? Do you have hots for him?" Kaidan chuckled.

Ashley's cheeks turned red but only for a second. She quickly composed herself and replied, "I am not bothered about his love life. It's you who was babbling about him. I just…"

"Maybe yeah I babbled about him. But you can't deny that you like him and I mean like him a lot. I saw you almost drooling when he held up Harkin with one hand. But it wasn't only you. Other women in the club were also drooling." He waggled his eyebrows with a smirk on his face.

"No. I … So, what if I like him? It's none of your business." Ashley said embarrassed.

Kaidan chuckled loudly which made John look back towards them curiously which made Ashley blush even more.

"What's the joke, Kaidan?" John asked smiling.

"No offense, Commander. But it was between me and Williams." Kaidan said.

"None taken." John shrugged and entered the elevator.

"I wonder why the Captain didn't tell us that he was a Spectre?" Ashley asked.

"Maybe it's not true. Harkin's an ass. I bet he's just messing with our heads." Kaidan replied.

"You're probably right and the Commander should have punched him. Still I'd like to hear what the Captain has to say about all this." Ashley said.

_**13 YEARS AGO…** _

"Soldiers, board the vessel. We have to follow the slavers. They have taken civilians with them." The Captain ordered her soldiers.

"Yes, Captain." They saluted and quickly boarded the fleet followed by their Captain.

The Alliance fleet immediately took off from Mindoir and followed the slaver's ship to the outer space. "Captain, we have got them on scanners." said one of the helmsman.

"Very well. Don't let them get away." The Captain said.

They followed the slaver's ship for some time and finally got the slaver's ship in their attack range.

"We are not here to take them out. We need to slow them down. Take out their engine and slow them down. Fire at will!" The Captain ordered. The Alliance fleet fired at her Captain's order and took out one of it's engines causing it to slow down.

"All men report to battle station. Prepare to board the enemy ship. Remember, looking for civilians is priority." The Captain ordered and walked towards the gunnery to pick her weapons. The Alliance soldier finally boarded the enemy ship with their Captain in lead. Immediately they received heavy fire from the enemies forcing them to take cover. The Captain peeked out slightly. She observed two slavers on top of a catwalk has pinned down her soldiers but they were in such a position she couldn't get a clear aim at them. So, she lobbed a grenade at the catwalk's support causing it to give away and crash down with the two slavers on top of it. She pulled out her assault rifle and rained bullets on the enemies giving her soldiers covering fire to push forward. Both sides kept on fighting for a long time. Few Alliance soldiers got hurt in the battle but nothing serious. Finally the Alliance soldiers overpowered the slavers. The remaining few slavers surrendered themselves.

"Marines, search for the civilians."

"Aye, aye Captain." The soldiers acknowledged her order and scattered around the ship, looking for civilians. They managed to rescue the civilians within few minutes.

"Corporal all civilians secured?" The Captain asked.

"We couldn't find anyone else, Captain."

"No. No. Wait. There is one more, a teenage boy, probably sixteen years old."

"Where is he?" The Captain asked the civilian.

"I don't know. He tried to fight against them. So, they took him away from our cell."

The Captain turned towards the Corporal. "Search the ship, again."

The Corporal saluted and he disappeared with other soldiers in the ship. After few minutes the Corporal returned and saluted the Captain. "Captain, we found him. But…." The Corporal reported.

"But… what?"

"He is in severe condition Captain. They tortured him almost to death. He barely has a pulse."

"Then prepare emergency first aid and try to stable him."

"Aye Captain. I already radioed for them to prepare for emergency."

"Where is he? Take me to him."

The Corporal took her to the place where the boy is. When she reached she saw that the medics are already trying to stabilize him and treating to his wounds. The boy was badly tortured. His face was bruised and there was numerous wounds on his body which were bleeding profusely. _If I had my son he would have been exactly this boy's age._ She thought sadly. Then suddenly her eyes fell on the boy and she noticed something was sticking out from the boy's pocket. Curiously she pulled it out and held it in front of her eyes to examine it. It was a picture of the boy and the girl who requested her to save this boy earlier. She sighed and watched the medics treating the wounds on his face. As they turned his head left her eyes widened as she spotted something. She rushed forward and pushed the medic aside. It was a birthmark at his neck and it was the same birthmark her son had and exactly at the same place.

"Take of his boots now." She ordered. The medics looked confused at her behaviour but they followed her order nonetheless. After they took of his boots she examined his right leg and her eyes misted and few drops of tears fell from her eyes. The medics looked at the Captain alarmed.

"Captain are you alright?" One of the medics asked her.

"I… "

"Captain are you feeling alright?" The medic asked again. But she didn't answer, instead she placed the boy's head on her lap and started sobbing. The other soldiers also got concerned at their Captain's behaviour. They worked with their Captain for years and she never acted like this after watching a tortured teenage boy.

"Captain!" The captain called out little loudly which caused her to look towards them. But she looked down again towards the boy's face caressing his face and running her hands through his hairs in a motherly way.

"Captain, do you know this poor boy?" The Corporal asked.

"Yes….. I do." She said in a trembling voice.

"Who is he?" The marine asked curiously.

"He… He is John Shepard, my son." She said in a soft voice with a sad smile. Part of her is overjoyed that she, Captain Hannah Shepard got her son back after sixteen long years and another part of her is frightened that he may not live now to know that his mother is alive. Hearing her confession all the marines eyes widened. "How long will it take to reach the Citadel, Corporal?"

"Approximately one hour."

"Okay." Then she looked down at her son's face and whispered, "Hold on John, please hold on. For your mother."

**48 Hours later at Huerta Memorial Hospital**

"How is my son, Doctor?" Hannah Shepard asked the doctor.

"His vitals are all normal again and he is out of danger. He will regain consciousness very soon." The Doctor gave a reassuring smile.

"Thank you doctor, for saving my son." Hannah said.

"I am glad that I could save your son. You don't need to thank me Captain, that's my job."

"Can I see him now?"

"Ah. Yes. You can. Doctor Chakwas is looking over him at this moment."

"Thank you again Doctor."

Hannah Shepard left the doctor there and walked inside the patient ward to see her son. When she reached there, she saw Dr. Chakwas was sitting beside her son quietly.

"Karin….." Hannah whispered.

Dr. Chakwas looked towards Hannah and smiled slightly. "Your son is okay Hannah, don't worry."

"Why isn't he waking up? There are many things I would like to talk about with him." Hannah said running her left hand through John's hairs.

"Give him some time. His body needs time. It's a miracle that he survived after what he went through."

"But….." Hannah tried to say something to Karin but she stopped hearing a whisper from her son's mouth. She smiled, happy at the thought that her son finally woke up. She looked towards him and saw that his eyes were still closed, although he was murmuring something.

"What's he saying?" Hannah asked her friend Karin.

"I don't know. Let's try to hear it more carefully." Karin replied.

They both listened intently to John's faint whispers and they could understand what he is saying. He was repeating someone's name unconsciously.

"Miri….. I am sorry. Miri….. Miri…. Miri….." John mumbled unconsciously.

"I think he is looking for someone is his sleep." Karin said.

"Yeah. And I think I know who he is looking for." Hannah replied smiling towards her son's face.

"Who is it? You know that person? Then I would suggest to bring that person here. It would speed up his recovery process."

"My future daughter-in-law. My son is looking for the girl he loves." Hannah replied. She realized that her son was in love when she saw the picture of that girl in his pocket, the way he is searching for her subconsciously and the way that girl looked when she requested Hannah to save John. They both were in love, the two teenagers. Hannah was glad that her son had someone to look after him when she couldn't be there with him.

"How can you be so sure, Hannah?" Karin asked.

"I know. I had some proofs or you can call it as a mother's intuition." Hannah replied.

After an hour later, John slowly opened his eyes to realize that he is lying in a hospital bed and two women were looking down at him with smiles on their lips. One of them he realized was a doctor and the other one was an Alliance soldier and….. and her eyes…. her eyes were exactly like his.

"Where am I?" He groaned as a sharp pain shot through his head as he tried to sit up.

"Relax, son. You have been through a lot. Rest." The doctor said preventing him to sit up.

"No. You don't understand. I have to get to her. She is all alone out there. I can't just stay here. I…." John continued babbling but stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Calm down, young man. I have sent my men to retrieve her from there. She will be here with you." The Alliance officer assured him. She watched him relaxing a little and lay down again.

"Thank you, Mam. Thanks for saving me and going after her." John said.

"John. I am Captain Hannah Shepard and this is my dearest friend Dr. Karin Chakwas." Hannah introduced herself and her friend Karin to her son. He gave them an appreciative smile. Dr. Chakwas checked him and stood up from her seat to talk with her friend.

"I will leave the two of you alone now." Karin said to her friend. Hannah nodded.

When the Doctor left she sat down beside John and looked at him intently. "I need to talk to you about something, John." Hannah said.

"Anything, mam. I am listening." He said.

"I didn't give you my full identity a moment ago. There's more to this. I am Captain Hannah Shepard and…. and…. I am also your mother, son." She confessed to him.

He froze and his eyes widened. He couldn't believe what he just heard. His mother is _alive_? Then why did she left him in the orphanage? And if she had some obligations, why didn't she return to take him back later? His eyes watered and he looked down not wanting to meet his mother's eyes.

"John please look at me. Hear me out, please?" Hannah pleaded.

"What's there to hear, _mother_?" He snapped angrily. "All this years I thought that I had known that my parents died, so I grew up in an orphanage. But suddenly I came to know that my mother has been alive for all these years serving in military. Why you didn't ever tried to find me, once?" He asked crying.

"Believe me John, I did. For five years. Your father died defending you and me. They, your father's enemies knocked me out and took you away. I… I couldn't do anything. But I hunted those bastards down who killed your father and took my son away from me. They said that they lost you on road when their taxi crashed down on the streets. I…" Hannah said also crying.

Shame and guilt filled him. He realized that his mother did everything she could to find him and to avenge his father. He lost his father but he cannot lose his mother too. "I…. I am sorry mother. I didn't know." He stuttered.

"It's me who should be sorry, son. Not you. If I tried harder….."

"No. I know you did your best. I don't blame you mother."

"You don't?" Hannah's face brightened.

"No. I love you mom. I love you and I missed you." He said sitting up and hugging his mother tightly, hiding his face in his mother's chest. Hannah held her son tightly to her body as tears of happiness fell from her eyes.

"I love you too my son and I missed you too." She said kissing his forehead.

He smiled after pulling himself away from his mother's embrace. He lay down on his bed because he was still very weak.

"You know John, I am proud of you." Hannah smiled at her son.

"Why?" He looked at her curiously.

"I know about your sacrifice. Your 'Miri' told me about it. She was the one who requested me to save you."

"You two already met?"

"Yeah. But I must say you got yourself a fine young lady, who cares for you and she is quite beautiful." She said and smiled when she saw the blush creeping up on her son's face.

"Yeah. She… she is amazing." He blushed more and his mother's smile widened.

"I know that she truly cares about you, John and I can't wait to see you two get married and give me grandchildrens someday." She teased.

"Mom. Stop it." John turned bright red and Hannah chuckled. She laid a hand on his forehead and said, "Sleep John. I am here and your Miri will also be here when you wake up. Sleep."

He smiled and took his mother's hands in his and fell asleep almost instantly.


	7. The First Human Spectre

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After playing Mass Effect I got the feeling that all the women in Shepard's team were attracted to him. Although Tali's attraction towards Shepard was revealed in ME2, I think it's better if she had a crush from the start.

**AT DR. MICHEL'S CLINIC**

John hid himself behind the wall at the clinic entrance signaling Kaidan and Ashley to remain quite. He peeked slightly to see that Dr. Michel was surrounded by thugs and they all had weapons in their hands. Then he spotted Garrus, crouching behind a low wall inside the clinic. John realized Garrus was trying to take out the thug that had his gun pointed at the doctor.

"I didn't tell anyone. I swear." Dr. Michel begged to the thug.

"That was smart, Doc." The thug replied.

"Now if Garrus comes around, you stay smart. Keep your mouth shut or we'll…" The thug warned the doctor.

John realized that Garrus needs a distraction to take out the thug. He left his cover and showed himself to the thugs, Kaidan and Ashley followed him. The thugs immediately turned their weapons on the trio.

"Who are you?" The leader of the thugs asked.

"Let her go! Now!" John warned aiming his pistol at the thugs head.

Garrus got the distraction he needed and he took out the leader with a clean head shot with his pistol from behind. The thug died and the doctor freed herself. The rest of the thugs were taken out by the trio before they could react.

"Perfect timing Shepard. Gave me a clear shot at that bastard." Garrus said.

"You took him down clean." John praised.

"Sometimes you get lucky." Garrus shrugged. He turned towards the doctor. "Dr. Michel? Are you hurt?" Garrus asked softly.

"No. I'm okay. Thanks to you. All of you." She said, still a little shaken.

"Why were they threatening you? Who do they work for?" John asked.

"They work for fist. They wanted to shut me up, keep me from telling Garrus about the quarian." Dr. Michel said.

"What quarian?" John asked.

"A few days ago, a quarian came by my office. She'd been shot, but she wouldn't tell me who did it. I could tell she was scared, probably on the run. She asked me about the Shadow Broker. She wanted to trade information in exchange for a safe place to hide."

"Where is she now?"

"I put her in contact with Fist. He's an agent for the Shadow Broker."

"Not any more. Now he works for Saren, and the Shadow Broker isn't too happy about it." Garrus added.

"Fist betrayed the Shadow Broker? That's stupid, even for him. Saren must have made him quite a offer." Dr. Michel asked.

"The quarian must have something Saren wants. Something worth crossing the Shadow Broker to get." Garrus concluded.

"What else can you tell me about the quarian?" John asked.

"I'm not sure. Like I said, she wanted to trade information for a place to hide. She didn't….." Dr. Michel stopped and her face brightened. "Wait a minute! Geth. Her information had to do with the geth!"

"She must be able to link Saren to the geth. There's no way the council can ignore this!" Garrus said.

"Wait didn't we overheard that krogan in Chora's Den, talking about some kind of dealings with Fist?" Ashley interrupted.

"Yeah, we did. Time we paid Fist a visit." John replied.

"This is your show, Shepard. But I want to bring Saren down as much as you do. I'm coming with you." Garrus said.

"No offense. But you're a turian like Saren. Why do you want to bring him down?" john asked curiously.

"I couldn't find the proof I needed in my investigation. But I knew what was really going on. Saren is a traitor to the Council and a disgrace to my people!" Garrus spat.

"Welcome aboard, Garrus." John smiled and they both shook hands.

"You know, we aren't the only ones going after Fist. The Shadow broker hired a krogan bounty hunter named Wrex to take him out." Garrus said.

"Yeah, that was him in the bar." Ashley said.

"A krogan might come in handy." John said looking towards Ashley.

"Last I heard, he was at the C-Sec Academy." Garrus informed.

"What is he doing there?" Kaidan asked.

"Fist accused him of making threats. We brought Wrex in for a little talk. If we hurry, we can catch him at the Academy before he leaves." Garrus said.

"Let's move out." John said and they were about to leave but Dr. Michel stopped him. "I never properly thanked you for saving me from Fist's thugs, Commander. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't been there."

"I'm just glad you weren't hurt." John said.

She smiled hearing his answer. "What I heard about you is true Commander. You really are a good man. Dr. Chakwas is my friend, she told me all about you."

"Ah… Well." John rubbed the back of his neck hearing the praise from the doctor.

"I won't stop you anymore Commander." She smiled again which John returned and left with his crew.

John and Garrus were walking forward while Kaidan and Ashley were following them from behind.

"You know next time don't be so obvious when you ogle at the Commander. Show some restraint." Kaidan teased Ashley.

"When we return to the Normandy I want you to spar with me, so that I could kick your ass Lieutenant." Ashley said angrily trying to cover up the blush that was spreading on her cheeks.. Kaidan laughed lightly.

**C-SEC ACADEMY**

"Witnesses saw you making threats in Fit's bar. Stay away from him." A C-Sec officer warned Wrex.

"I don't take orders from you." Wrex replied evenly.

"This is your only warning Wrex."

"You should warn Fist. I will kill him."

"You want me to arrest you?"

"I want you to try."

"Go on. Get out of here." The C-Sec officer said angrily.

The krogan was leaving but John stopped him. "My name's Shepard. I'm going after Fist. Thought you might want to come along." John offered the huge krogan.

"Shepard? Commander Shepard? I've heard a lot about you. We're both warriors Shepard. Out of respect, I'll give you fair warning. I'm going to kill Fist."

"Fist knows you are coming. We'll have a better chance if we all work together." Garrus said.

Wrex looked towards Garrus for few moment. Then he spoke, "My people have a saying: Seek the enemy of your enemy, and you will find a friend."

"Glad to have you on team Wrex." John said and shook hands with Wrex.

"Let's go. I hate to keep Fist waiting."

**AT THE WAREHOUSE – FIST'S HIDEOUT**

"Stop right there! Don't come any closer!" One of the workers of the warehouse warned John and his team. There were three workers with their guns pointing at John's team.

"Warehouse workers. All the real guards must be dead." Ashley whispered.

"Puny human! You dare raise a gun against me!" Wrex growled.

"Stay back or we'll shoot!" The worker said nervously watching the massive form of Wrex.

"Look there is no way you guys stand a chance against the five of us. You are already outnumbered. This would be a good time to find somewhere else to work." John reasoned with them.

The workers sighed in defeat and lowered their guns. "Yeah. Yeah, right. That's a good idea. I never liked Fist anyway." The workers left the warehouse.

"It would've been easy to just kill them." Wrex grumbled.

"Shooting people isn't always the answer." Ashley said.

"Alright team let's go and say hello to Fist." John said.

"Aye, aye Commander." Kaidan and Ashley said in unison.

"Yeah, let's go. If we get this done quickly we can probably save the quarian and find out what she's up to." Garrus said.

"Fist is mine." Wrex clasped his hands.

The five of them slowly kept on proceeding forward until they found their paths blocked by at least fifty thugs of Fist.

"Things, get never boring around you Commander." Kaidan remarked.

"I agree with your Lieutenant, Shepard." Garrus smirked.

"Yeah, yeah. This is what I have been waiting for. Come on." Wrex said.

The thugs started firing on them immediately on Fist's order. They all dove for cover. John threw his sniper towards Garrus as he only had a pistol. "Make it count Garrus." John said.

"You got it Shepard." Garrus replied and put his eyes on the scope of the sniper and shot one thug right at his chest. "Scoped and dropped." Garrus reported.

John peeked out of cover and fired several rounds from his assault rifle taking down two thugs by head shot.

"Nice shooting." Garrus commented.

Ashley and Kaidan fired in unison taking out five more thugs. Two thugs tried to push forward to their position but they were killed by a single shot from Wrex's shotgun. Garrus took out two more with the sniper.

"Two of the thugs hiding behind that table. Can't get a clean shot." Garrus commented.

"Ashley frag out." John ordered. She nodded and lobbed a frag grenade behind the table. The two thugs tried to run away from the cover to save themselves from the impact of the grenade but it already detonated before they could escape.

"Two more down." Ashley said.

"They have superior positions. We have to take them down from front." John said.

"Understood Commander." Kaidan said. He pulled out several flash bangs and handed one to the each, keeping one for himself.

"Flash and clear." John ordered.

Garrus holstered his sniper and readied his pistol. Then all of them threw five flash bangs in five different places blinding all the thugs. "Move, move." John said. Before they could move forward Wrex rushed past them with a growl and tackled five of the thugs knocking them out cold.

"That works too." Garrus remarked. The four of them followed Wrex and joined the firefight. Within a minute all the remaining guards were left dead or unconscious.

Wrex grabbed Fist and held him up by his throat growling at him menacingly.

"Tell me where the quarian is and I won't have to let Wrex tear you to shreds." John said coldly.

"She's not here. I don't know where she is. That's the truth." Fist lied.

Wrex increased the pressure on his throat causing Fist to struggle for his breath.

"He's no use to you now, Shepard. Let me kill him." Wrex said.

"Wait! Wait! I don't know where the quarian is, but I know where you can find her." Fist stuttered. Wrex let him down on the ground. Fist caught his breath and continued, "The quarian isn't here. Said she'd only deal with the Shadow Broker himself."

"Face to face? Impossible! Even I was hired through an agent." Wrex said.

"Nobody meets the Shadow Broker. Ever. Even I don't know his true identity. But she didn't know that. I told her I'd set a meeting up. But when she shows up, it'll be Saren's men waiting for her." Fist confessed.

John's expression turned cold. He grabbed Fist and slammed him into the wall with one hand and said coldly on his face, "Give me the location. Now."

"Here on the wards. The back alley by the markets. She's supposed to meet them right now. You can make it if you hurry."

Wrex immediately raised his gun and pointed at Fist.

"Drop the gun, krogan." Ashley warned.

"The Shadow broker paid me to kill him. I don't leave jobs half done." Wrex said.

"We don't shoot unarmed prisoners Wrex." John said.

"How many people died because of him? He brought this on himself. Besides, we have more pressing concerns." Wrex said.

"That quarian is dead if we don't go now!" Ashley said a little loudly.

Wrex finally let go of Fist and pushed him down on the floor. When the five of them turned to leave, Wrex snatched the pistol from Garrus' hand and shot Fist at his knee. Then he handed the gun back to Garrus.

"That's the least I must do." He said and walked past them. Garrus shrugged.

.

**LOCATION: AT THE BACK ALLEY OF THE WAREHOUSE**

"Where's the Shadow Broker? Where's Fist?" The quarian asked the turians in front of her.

"They'll be here. Where's the evidence?" The leader of the turian replied.

"No way. The deal's off." The quarian replied and turned away to leave but she found her path blocked by three turians. "What is the meaning of this?" She asked the turian leader.

"We're not leaving without the evidence and you aren't either."

"You. You are Saren's men."

"Got that didn't you. Now, give the evidence to us like a nice girl."

"No. Never."

"Then we will have to take it by force. You left us no choice."

The turians stepped towards the quarian and she stepped back. She knew there's no way she could take out all the seven of them by herself. But before they could touch her, three of the turians heads were blasted apart.

"What the….." The turian leader said surprised. He looked towards his left, only to be tackled by a huge krogan in red armor. The krogan smashed him on the wall and killed him with a bullet from his shotgun. The other turians were also killed in the meantime by the rapid fire from the human's assault rifle who was now walking towards her slowly in a non-threatening way.

"Fist set me up! I knew I couldn't trust him!" the quarian said to John.

"Don't worry about Fist. He got what was coming to him." John assured her.

"Then I guess there are two things I need to thank you for. Who are you?" She asked.

"I am John Shepard. I'm looking for evidence to prove Saren is a traitor."

"Then I have a chance to repay you for saving my life. But not here. We need to go somewhere safe."

"The ambassador's office. It's safe there. He'll want to see this anyway." Ashley said.

"Okay. Thanks to all of you, for saving my life. I am Tali'Zorah nar Rayya." Tali extended her hand to shake hand with Shepard.

"Alright everyone let's move." John said and everyone followed. Tali also followed them but she couldn't help but look at the human named Shepard. He seemed different than other humans. She realized that she can trust this human. Something about him make her trust him. She don't know what made her do that. Besides these facts she couldn't help but notice that he is very handsome by human standards. Her eyes lingered on him all the time. She was thankful that no one could see her ogling him since her face is hidden by her helmet. She shook those thoughts away and followed them.

UDINA'S OFFICE

"You're not making my life easy, Shepard. Firefights in the wards? Do you know how many….." Udina stopped when he noticed a young female quarian among Shepard's crew. "Who's this? A quarian? What are you up to Shepard?" Udina asked frustrated.

"Making your day, Ambassador. She has information linking Saren to the geth." John replied curtly.

"Really?" Udina's face lighted up. "Maybe you better start at the beginning, Miss…..?" He said looking towards Tali.

"My name is Tali. Tali'Zorah nar Rayya." Tali introduced herself.

"We don't have many quarians here. Why did you leave the flotilla?" Udina asked.

"I was on my pilgrimage, my rite of passage into adulthood. It is a tradition among my people. When we reach maturity, we leave the ships of our parents and our people behind. Alone, we search the stars, only returning to the flotilla once we have discovered something of value. In this way, we prove ourselves worthy of adulthood." Tali explained.

"What kind of things do you look for?" John asked curiously.

"It could be resources like food or fuel. Or some type of useful technology. Or even knowledge that will make life easier on the flotilla. Through our pilgrimage, we prove that we will contribute to the community, rather than being a burden on our limited resources."

"What do you found?"

"During my travels I began hearing reports of the geth. Since they drove my people into exile, the geth have never ventured beyond the Veil. I was curious. I tracked a patrol of geth to an uncharted world. I waited for one to become separated from its unit. Then I disabled it and removed its memory core."

"I thought the geth fried their memory cores when they died. Some kind of defense mechanism." Anderson said.

"What did you find out from it?" John asked.

"Most of the core was wiped clean. But I salvaged something from its audio banks." Tali said and she played the audio file in her Omni-tool.

" _Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit._ "

"That's Saren's voice. This proves he was involved in the attack!" Anderson said excited.

"He said Eden Prime brought him one step closer to finding the Conduit. Any idea what that means?" John asked Anderson.

"The Conduit must have something to do with the beacon. Maybe it's some kind of Prothean technology….. like a weapon." Anderson said.

"Wait…. There's more. Saren wasn't working alone." Tali interrupted. She played the audio log again.

" _Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit._ "

" _And one step closer to the return of the Reapers._ "

"I don't recognize that other voice. The one talking about the Reapers." Udina said tapping his chin.

"Are they some kind of new alien species?" John asked.

"According to the memory core, the Reapers were a hyper-advanced machine race that existed 50,000 years ago. The Reapers hunted the Protheans to total extinction, and then they vanished. At least, that's what the geth believe." Tali answered.

"Sounds a little far-fetched." Udina said.

John rubbed his temple. "The vision on Eden Prime – I understand it now. I saw the Protheans being wiped out by the Reapers."

"The geth revere the Reapers as gods, the pinnacle of non-organic life. And they believe Saren knows how to bring the Reapers back." Tali said.

"The Council is just going to love this!" Udina commented dryly.

"The Reapers are a threat to every species in Citadel space. We have to tell them." John insisted.

"No matter what they think about the rest of this, those audio files prove Saren's a traitor." Anderson said.

"The Captain's right. We need to present this to the Council right away." Udina said.

"What about her? The quarian?" Wrex questioned.

"My name is Tali!" Tali said irritated. Then she looked towards John. "Let me come with you Commander. I can help you."

"I thought you were on your Pilgrimage." John said.

"The Pilgrimage proves we are willing to give of ourselves for the greater good. What does it say about me if I turn my back on this? Saren is a danger to the entire galaxy. My pilgrimage can wait." She explained.

"I'll take all the help I can get." John said with a small smile and shook hands with her. "Welcome to the team, Tali."

"Thanks. You won't regret this." She said.

"Anderson and I will go ahead to get things ready with the Council. Take a few minutes to collect yourself, then meet us in the Tower." Udina said. He and Anderson left the office to arrange another meeting with the Council.

**CITADEL TOWER**

"Come on. Udina is presenting the quarian's evidence to the Council." Anderson said to John. They could hear the audio log playing which contain the proof of Saren's betrayal.

"You wanted proof. There it is." Udina said to the Council.

"This evidence is irrefutable, Ambassador. Saren will be stripped of his Spectre status and all efforts will be made to bring him in to answer for his crimes." The turian councilor declared.

"I recognize the other voice, the one speaking with Saren. Matriarch Benezia." The asari Councilor added.

"Who's she?" John asked.

"Matriarchs are powerful asari who have entered the final stage of their lives. Revered for their wisdom and experience, they serve as guides and mentor to my people. Matriarch Benezia is a powerful biotic, and she had many followers. She will make a formidable ally for Saren." The asari councilor explained.

"I'm more interested in the Reapers. What do you know about them?" The salarian councilor cut in.

"Only what was extracted from the geth's memory core. The reapers were an ancient race of machines that wiped out the Protheans. Then they vanished." Anderson answered.

"The geth believe the reapers are gods and Saren is the prophet for their return." John said.

"We think the conduit is the key to bringing them back. Saren is searching for it. That's why he attacked Eden Prime." Anderson said.

"Do we even know what this conduit is?" The salarian councilor asked.

"Saren thinks it can bring back the reapers. That's bad enough." John answered.

"Listen to what you're saying! Saren wants to bring back the machines that wiped out all life in the galaxy? Impossible. It has to be." The turian councilor argued. He babbled more, "Where did the Reapers go? Why did they vanish? How come we've found no trace of their existence? If they were real, we'd have found something!"

"I tried to warn you about Saren, and you refused to face the truth. Don't make the same mistake again." John said angrily.

"This is different. You proved Saren betrayed the Council. We all agree he's using the geth to search for the Conduit, but we don't really know why." The asari councilor added.

"The Reapers are obviously just a myth, Commander. A convenient lie to cover Saren's true purpose. A legend he is using to bend the geth to his will." The salarian councilor added.

"We can't take any steps based on legends. There was also a legend among my people…. An asari Matriarch predicted – _When the galaxy will be at peril a hero will rise to save us. He or she will have no match in battle_. But that was a prediction." The asari councilor added.

"50,000 years ago, the reapers wiped out the galactic civilization. If Saren finds the Conduit, it will happen again!" This time John spoke a little loudly.

"Saren is a rogue agent on the run for his life. He no longer has the right or resources of a Spectre. The Council has stripped him of his position." The turian councilor said.

"That is not good enough! You know he's hiding somewhere in the Traverse. Send your fleet in!" Udina proposed.

"A fleet cannot track down one man." The salarian councilor said.

"A Citadel fleet could secure the entire region. Keep the geth from attacking any more of our colonies." Udina said.

"Or it could trigger a war with the Terminus Systems! We won't be dragged into a galactic confrontation over a few dozen human colonies!" The turian councilor said evenly.

John stepped forward. "I can take Saren down."

"The Commander is right. There is a way to stop Saren that doesn't require fleets or armies." The asari councilor said.

"No! It's too soon. Humanity is not ready for the responsibilities that come with joining the Spectres." The turian councilor argued again.

"I faced Saren on Eden Prime and exposed him for a traitor. I've proven myself." John said with confidence.

The Councilors whispered among themselves for few seconds. Finally the asari councilor spoke, "Commander Shepard – step forward. It is the decision of the Council that you be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel."

"Spectres are not trained, but chosen. Individuals forged in the fire of service and battle, those whose actions elevate them above the rank and file." The salarian councilor said.

"Spectres are an ideal, a symbol. The embodiment of courage, determination, and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the Council, instruments of our will." The asari councilor added again.

"Spectres bear a great burden. They are protectors of galactic peace, both our first and last line of defense. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold." The turian councilor said.

"You are the first human Spectre, Commander." This is a great accomplishment for you and your entire species." The asari councilor said to John.

"I am honored, Councilor." John said.

"We're sending you into the Traverse after Saren. He's a fugitive from justice, so you are authorized to use any means necessary to apprehend or eliminate him." The salarian councilor said.

"I'll find him." John said with determination.

"The meeting of the Council is adjourned." The asari councilor said ending the hearing.

"Congratulations, Commander" Anderson shook hands with John.

"We've got a lot of work to do, Shepard. You're going to need a ship, a crew, supplies…." Udina said.

"You'll get access to special equipment now. You should go down to the Spectre Academy and speak to the Spectre Requisitions officer." Anderson said.

"Anderson, come with me. I'll need your help to set all this up." Udina said and strode off with Anderson at his toe.

Tali turned towards John. "I thought the ambassador would be a little more grateful. He didn't even thank you."

"I didn't expected it from him. Come on." John said.

"Right behind you, Shepard." Garrus and Wrex said in unison. Ashley and Kaidan gave him a small salute. As they started walking to meet Udina and Anderson, a single thought came to John's mind, " _I wish you were here Miri._ "


	8. Delving into the past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I don't know what you people think about the feelings between the two lovebirds. But I think that's true love what they have.

**HUERTA MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, CITADEL – 13 YEARS AGO**

John woke up from his sleep on his bed in the hospital to find that his mother was looking towards him with a smile on her face. The first question that came out from his mouth was, "Mom! Is she here?"

Instead of answering his mother indicated him to look towards his right. He slowly turned his head towards his right. _And there she was. She looked perfect and beautiful as ever._ She sat there looking towards him with a mischievous smile on her face.

"Miri….." He whispered. Silent tears started to run down from his eyes but those were happy tears. She took his right hands in her and squeezed it lightly. "I am here, John. I am here with you and I will always be with you, in here." She said placing her hand over his heart. "I know that I will be always in your heart and you will also be in mine, forever. But…"

"But, what Miri?" He asked softly taking her hands in his.

"I know this will hurt you, John. I know it will. Believe me, I don't want to do this because it is tearing me apart but I have no choice. I have to go now. I think this isn't the time for us to reunite. But I will wait for you to find me, once you are ready."

"No….. No." He whispered.

"Listen to me, John. The galaxy will need a hero one day and I know that he will be you."

"No! Miri! Please, don't leave me! Please, don't! I can't survive without you."

"You have to John. You have to become the hero the galaxy will need as its savior, my savior."

"Miri! Don't leave me, please! I love you." He pleaded.

"I love you too John. But I have to go. I am sorry John. I am so sorry."

John tried to take her hands in his again to stop her leaving but he saw her slowly disappearing into thin air, right in front of his eyes. "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" He screamed.

John woke up with a scream in his bed. Dr. Chakwas came rushing towards him with concern on her face.

"What happened son? Are you feeling alright?" Dr. Chakwas asked.

Instead of answering her, he observed his surroundings first to realize that he was only dreaming. "I am okay. Where's my mom?" He asked.

"Hannah has gone to Mindoir colony to retrieve your friend. She will be here anytime now. Relax, son." Dr. Chakwas said running her hand over his head in a motherly affection.

At that moment Hannah Shepard entered the cabin, her face grim. John looked at his mother, then towards the door. "Where is she, mom?" He asked.

She looked towards her son and saw there was concern evident all over his face. Her expression turned sadder. "We couldn't find her there. The people of the colony said that she hadn't been seen since I left the planet to chase the slavers." Hannah explained.

"No. She must be there. She…" He stopped when his mother pulled him into a tight hug. "She's gone, John. She's gone."

"No. She won't leave me. She can't."

"John…."

"Go after her father. He must have some knowledge about her even if he is not involved in her disappearance."

"Who is her father?"

"Henry Lawson."

"I think I heard that name somewhere." Hannah said.

"Henry Lawson, one of the most powerful industrialist and businessman to ever exist." Dr. Chakwas answered.

"Yeah. Yeah. There was an article about him a few days ago on the news." Hannah turned towards John and asked, "Why is the daughter of Henry Lawson staying with you for all these years, John?"

"Mom. You need to know something….."

He explained to his mom about Miri, how she was mistreated and why she ran away.

"But Henry Lawson was never married and there was never any rumor about him having a child. Then how can….."

"Mom wait. Listen to me…" John hesitated at first but he realized that his mother must know about this, otherwise she can't help. So, he explained to her about Miranda's birth process. Both the women's eyes were large as saucers after hearing his story.

"That poor soul. Now I understand, why she ran away from her home." Dr. Chakwas said.

"Mom. You should confront Henry Lawson. Interrogate him and get her back. I bet he is involved behind her disappearance." John said angrily.

"John we can't do that, without evidence. But I think I can do something. I have some men who can keep watch on Henry Lawson's activity from now on." Hannah said.

"Very well, mom." John sighed.

Four long months passed away without any news of Miranda Lawson. Hannah concluded that maybe Henry Lawson wasn't involved in this. Maybe she is running after a wrong suspect. Her men never saw Henry Lawson acting suspicious or going to any secret place. They even disguised himself as Government's men and entered the house to search it. But there was nothing out of ordinary there. She realized her son wasn't doing well at all. He seemed…..

**4 YEARS LATER**

"Mom! I want to join the Alliance." John said.

"Why John? Why suddenly Alliance?" Hannah asked.

"For her, mom. I need to become strong enough to protect her from all dangers."

"But…."

"This is my choice, mom."

"Very well, john. If this is what you want. But I don't want to rush you into anything."

"I have thought about this for some months. And I want this career."

"As you wish. Tomorrow we will go and make the arrangements." Hannah sighed.

**FEW MORE YEARS LATER**

"Mom, I have been assigned to work under Captain Anderson." John said.

"I heard that. He is a good man John, a wise man. You should be proud that you are going to work under him." Hannah said.

"You know Captain Anderson?" He asked.

"Yes I know him. He is an old friend of mine and your father."

"Really? That's…"

"You are lucky to have him as your mentor john. There are very few skilled Alliance soldiers like him."

"I know. I admire Captain Anderson." He said and looked downwards hesitating. Hannah sensed his hesitancy.

"Anything you want to say, John?"

"You heard anything about her?" He asked softly. Guilt filled inside Hannah Shepard's heart. All these years she hardly ever saw her son smiling about something. She thought that his feelings for that girl will go away but it only strengthened over the years. Sometimes she couldn't understand how deeply her son loved the girl that after so many years he still couldn't let her go.

"No. Nothing. I am sorry, John." She said with guilt in her voice.

"It's okay mom. I guess….."

"You will find her one day, John. Believe me. You will or she will find you." She paused and then looked towards her son with a stern expression and ordered, "Now go and make me proud soldier."

"Aye, aye Captain." John saluted and left. Hannah looked towards her son in distance and sighed. She could only realize what her son is going through. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked back. It was Dr. Karin Chakwas.

"Karin…."

"Don't worry Hannah. He will be alright. He was the best in his class and training and he will be working under Captain Anderson." Karin soothed her friend.

"I know, but being a mother…" Hannah then took her friends hands in hers and requested, "You look after him for me. He looks at you as his second mother and he trusts you. Please look after my son, Karin."

"I will Hannah. I will. Don't worry." Karin assured her.


	9. The Journey begins

"Do you ever regret leaving Citadel Security to pursue Saren, Garrus?" Tali asked.

"Fighting a rogue Spectre with countless lives at stake and no regulations to get in the way? I'd say that beats C-Sec." Garrus replied.

"I'm pleased that the imminent destruction of all organic life has improved your career opportunities." Tali teased. Garrus groaned. John chuckled.

**AT THE DOCKS**

"I've got big news for you, Shepard. Captain Anderson is stepping down as commanding officer of the Normandy. The ship is yours now." Udina said.

"She's quick and quiet and you know the crew. Perfect ship for a Spectre. Treat her well, Commander." Anderson said.

"I want the truth. Why are you stepping down, sir?" John asked.

"You needed your own ship. A Spectre can't answer to anyone but the Council. And it's time for me to step down." Anderson said.

"Come clean with me, captain. You owe me that much."

"I was in your shoes 20 years ago, Shepard. They were considering me for Spectres. I failed. I couldn't make the cut. It's not something, I am proud of. I had my shot. It came and went. Now you have a chance to make up for my mistakes." Anderson said.

John realized that Anderson isn't ready to let him what really happened between him and Saren 20 years ago. So he let it go. "I won't let you down, sir."

"Saren's gone. Don't even try to find him. But we know what he's after – the Conduit. He's got his geth scouring the Traverse looking for clues." Anderson advised.

"We had reports of geth in the Feros system shortly before our colony there dropped out of contact. And there have been sightings around Noveria." Udina added.

"Find out what Saren was after on Feros and Noveria. Maybe you can figure out where the Conduit is before he does." Anderson said.

"The Reapers are the real threat." John replied.

"I'm with the Council on this one, Shepard. I'm not sure they even exist." Udina said.

"But if they do exist, the Conduit's the key to bringing them back. Stop Saren from getting the Conduit and we stop the reapers from returning." Anderson said.

"I'll stop him." John said, his expression steely.

"We have one more lead. Matriarch Benezia, the other voice on the recording? She has a daughter, a scientist who specializes in the Protheans. We don't know if she's involved but it might be a good idea to try and find her. See what she knows. Her name's Liara. Dr. Liara T'Soni. We have reports she was exploring an archeological dig on one of the uncharted worlds in the Artemis Tau cluster." Udina informed.

"Sounds like we should head for the Artemis Tau cluster." John said.

"It's your decision, Commander. You're a Spectre now. You don't answer to us." Anderson said.

"But your actions still reflect on humanity as a whole. You make a mess and I get stuck cleaning it up." Udina added. Anderson threw the Ambassador a dirty look.

"I'll do whatever it takes to stop Saren." John replied.

"Not exactly the answer I was looking for Shepard. Remember you were a human long before you were a Spectre. Anyways, I have a meeting to get to. Captain Anderson can answer any questions you might have." Udina said and left from there.

John turned towards Anderson. "I want to know the truth about Saren. I want to know about the mission you were on together all those years ago." He then turned towards his team and said, "Team, get settled in the Normandy. I have important matters to discuss with the Captain, privately." His crew nodded and entered the Normandy leaving John and Anderson alone in the docks.

"We…" Anderson started to speak but he was interrupted by a voice from behind.

"Forgive my son, Captain if he stepped beyond his limits. He always had a lot of questions."

Anderson turned back. "Admiral…" He said.

"Mom…." John said, his face lighted up.

"Now, now Anderson. Don't be so formal with me, old friend." Hannah said with a smile.

"It's you who called me by my rank, Hannah." Anderson replied.

"I guess I am the culprit here, then." She said and they all laughed.

"And about your son, he hasn't stepped beyond his limits. He deserves to know this." Anderson said.

"Maybe he does. But I know I know how uncomfortable you are with this subject, David. So, if you don't mind I can fill him in." Hannah offered.

"I will be glad. Now I think you both need to talk for yourselves. So, I will leave you two alone." Anderson said.

"I appreciate that, David." Hannah replied.

"Mom. What are you doing here?" John asked after Anderson left.

"To see you of course. I heard about your new rank and I am proud of you John." She replied.

"I know mom. I know. So can you tell me about Anderson and Saren?" He asked.

"Well, yeah. Listen…."

Hannah explained the time when Saren and Anderson went to a mission together after a rogue scientist who was trying to set up a facility to develop illegal AI technology. The Council sent Saren and Anderson was assigned to help him. They found the scientist protected by batarian mercenaries. Their mission was to get the scientist with minimum blood shed but Saren detonated a bomb at the refinery core. Everyone inside died. There was a camp for the workers and their families nearby. They also died and the final death count was over 500. Most of them were civilians. Saren didn't cared about anything else than taking out the target. The blame was put on Anderson's shoulders because Saren framed him in his report. Of course the Council believed his report instead of Anderson's words and the chance of him becoming a Spectre was dissolved.

John's expression turned cold. "I'll end this, mom." He said.

"I know you are going to Artemis Tau. It won't be easy to find Benezia's daughter. I would advise you to look for worlds with Prothean ruins." Hannah advised. John nodded in understanding.

"I should go, now." John said. He turned away to leave. But Hannah stopped her son.

"John what's wrong? You look a little….." She asked.

"I wish she was here mom. I wish she could see me becoming a Spectre. I want to see the pride in her eyes she would have felt for me." He said sadly.

"John…. Wherever she is, she is watching you. And she is proud of you. Don't do this to yourself, son." Hannah said placing her hand on John's shoulder. She looked up to see his face and saw there were tears breaming at the corner of his eyes. _God, she won't ever understand how much her son loved that girl._ _She is the only weakness he have._ _Sometimes she felt a little jealous over the fact that it doesn't matter how much her son cares for her, but she will always be his second favorite person. But she overcame that feeling slowly in the past years._ "Now go son. Kick Saren so hard up his ass that he will thought second time about doing anything wrong. For the sake of the galaxy, for me and for her. Go!"

He nodded and they both saluted each other. Then he left his mother and entered the Normandy.

**INSIDE THE NORMANDY**

"Commander, glad to have you in command." Joker said.

John didn't look at him. His gaze was towards the sky. "Saren's out there somewhere. I'm going to find him and when I do…." He murmured.

"Everyone in this ship is behind you Commander. 100 percent. Intercom's open. If you've got anything you want to say to the crew, now's the time." Joker said.

" _This is Commander Shepard speaking. We have our orders – find Saren before he finds the Conduit. I won't lie to you crew. This mission isn't going to be easy. This began with an attack on a human settlement in the Traverse. But we know Saren won't stop there. His geth armies aren't going to stop to stay on the far fringes of Citadel space. For too long our species has stood apart from the others. Now, it's time for us to step up and do our part for the rest of the galaxy! Time to show them what humans are made of! Our enemy know we are coming. When we go into the Traverse, Saren's followers will be waiting for us. But we'll be ready for them too. Humanity needs to do this. Not just for our own sake, but for the sake of every other species in Citadel Space. Saren must be stopped, and I promise you all…. We_ will _stop him!_ "

Ashley watched how the crew got the motivation from their Commander's speech and they started working more seriously with determination in their eyes. She just smiled proudly. _He really is something else._ She thought.

**LOCATION UNKNOWN….**

Miranda watched the news of Commander Shepard becoming the first human Spectre. She was relieved that at last a human got that rank. But there was something else nagging her for quite a while. So, she was quite through the whole journey with her sister. She dropped Oriana at her house and left her with an embrace. Now she delved into her mind why she is feeling so…. _Uncomfortable_? No not really. But after watching that face on news something happened to her heart. _Those eyes, those clear blue eyes._ She felt as if she saw those eyes before and she got a feeling inside her that somehow she knew Commander Shepard. It sounds absurd because she never met him. Still…. He reminded her of someone she knew, someone she loved, still loves and always will. Her thoughts broke when she got a message on her Omni-tool. It was from the Illusive Man and he wanted to talk with her urgently. She realized it was time for her to go, so she pushed her thoughts about the Commander aside and started towards her destination.


	10. Benezia's Daughter

**NORMANDY**

"Commander, there's geth activity on the planet Therum. Something is happening there. You should scout the planet. It's likely that Dr. T'Soni is in there. But I will have to drop you far away from the Prothean ruins. That area is full of hostiles." Joker said.

"Not a problem, Joker. We will take the Mako there." John said.

"Be careful out there Commander, the planet is flooded with magma and there are the geth." Joker said.

John nodded. "Tell the squad to suit up."

"Aye, aye Commander."

_**FEW MINUTES LATER…..** _

John was driving the Mako and Garrus was at his side as co-driver.

"Tell me, who gave you the driver's license, Shepard?" Garrus said and grunted as the Mako dropped on the ground violently after Shepard dodged an attack from the geth turret.

"I never got one." John answered.

Everyone's eyes widened. "You are kidding, right Commander?" Ashley asked.

"He is insane." Tali commented.

"Ha! Ha! I like this ride." Wrex laughed.

Garrus face palmed himself. "I don't think we need to worry about Saren killing us. We will be lucky if we survive this." Tali commented dryly.

"Garrus take that turret out." John said. Garrus fired a missile and it took care of the turret that was firing at them.

"Oh… I think I am going to be sick." Ashley said when the Mako gave another violent jerk.

"Shepard, what are you doing? We can't go through thereeeeeeee…" Tali screamed as John drove the Mako through a narrow gap between the hills.

"Ha! Ha! This is fun." Wrex laughed. John turned back towards Wrex and smirked at him. In the meantime Garrus fired the gun and took out few geth troopers. After driving for few minutes they stopped as there was a large gap between two sides of the river of lava.

"How do we get through this?" Tali asked.

"We should find another way." Garrus suggested.

"Garrus is right." Ashley said.

"I have an idea." John said eyeing the large rocks that were floating on the lava. Tali looked what he was staring at and her eyes widened under her helmet.

"Shepard, you surely aren't thinking about….." Tali said.

"Wait! Now what is he planning?" Garrus asked.

"I think he is trying to cross the river by jumping over those floating rocks." Tali said.

"You got to be kidding me!" Garrus shouted.

"I like the idea." Wrex said. Ashley scowled at him.

"There's no other way and Dr. T'Soni may be in danger. This is the quickest way." John said and he made the Mako jump on a floating rock without warning. Ashley and Tali screamed and grabbed each other out of fear. Wrex laughed. Garrus eyes were wide like saucers. They managed to cross the river but found their way blocked by a huge gate.

"It can't be blown apart. It's too thick." Garrus said.

"Then we have to find a way to manually override the gate. Come on." John said. He took Garrus and Tali with him. Wrex and Ashley stayed behind in the Mako.

"Shepard I think we can find the override panel in that room." Tali indicated towards her right side.

They entered and took care of the few geth that blocked their path. They returned safely to Mako and continued their journey. After driving for few minutes without encountering any hostiles they came to a stop. There was a narrow path between the rocks which will take them to the ruins but it can be accessed on foot only.

They left the Mako and pushed forward slowly. They didn't have to move much as the geth squad immediately started firing on them. They took cover behind the rocks. Ashley, Tali and Wrex kept the geth occupied with covering fire while John and Garrus took down the geth one by one with their sniper. The fight ended but not for long. After pushing further they could see a tunnel which would lead them to the Prothean ruins but they found their way blocked by another wave of geth troopers and a geth armature. They immediately dove for cover. Tali kept on hacking on hacking and taking down the shields of the geth while the rest of them finished the geth without their shields. They continued firing on the geth armature along with tech attacks. But it kept on regenerating its armor. John had an idea but he it was risky. He ordered Tali to take out the shields of the armature. She drained its shield with her tech powers and the rest of the shield was taken down by rapid firing. He and Garrus immediately fired some sniper shots on its armor causing it to weaken. He knew that it would try to regenerate its armor now. So, he didn't give it any opportunity. He ran forward and lobbed all the grenades he had with him towards its head. The blast from the multiple grenades took out the armature but the force of the explosion threw him and he collided against the rock with a sickening crunch and he felt his ribs crack. Garrus immediately came to his aid and helped him up on his feet.

"That was hell of a fight. Shepard you okay?" Garrus asked.

In the meantime the others also approached him. Ashley was looking towards him with concern. He shrugged their worries off.

"Good work team. We don't have time to waste. Let's push forward." John said and he entered the tunnel and the others followed. They faced few more geth and some geth assault drones. The five of them took out the drones easily and entered an elevator. They found an open ground after exiting from the elevator. John looked towards his right and saw a blue force field and inside the force was an asari. They hurried towards the force field.

"Can you hear me out there? I am trapped. I need help!" The asari said.

"Liara T'Soni, I presume." John said.

"Thank the Goddess! I did not think anyone would come looking for me. This thing I am in is a Prothean security device. I cannot move, so I need you to get me out of it. All right?"

"There's some kind of repulsion field in the way." John said.

"It's a Prothean barrier curtain. I knew it would keep me safe from the geth. When I turned it on, I must have hit something I wasn't supposed to. I was trapped in here. You must get me out of here. Please!" Liara said.

"We'll find some way to help you." John assured her.

"There is a control in here that should deactivate this thing. You'll have to find some way past the barrier curtain. That's the tricky part. The defenses cannot be shut off from the outside. I don't know how you'll get in here. Be careful. There is a krogan with the geth. They have been trying different ways to get past the barrier." She explained.

"Don't worry Liara. We will find a way." John said and turned back. His eyes searched the area carefully looking for a way inside the barrier. Then his eyes spotted the mining laser. Tali activated it and made a way in the rock wall by blasting it apart. They found an elevator inside and took it to reach the upper level. There they saw Liara frozen. She turned her head sideways and said, "How…. How did you get in here? I didn't think there was any way past the barrier!" Liara said surprised.

"We blasted through with the mining laser." John said and Tali was already working on the console trying to deactivate it and free Liara.

"Of course. Yes. That makes sense." Liara said.

"Hold on Commander. Her mother is working with Saren. Can we trust her?" Ashley said. Tali stopped working on the console. She hesitated.

"I am not my mother! I don't even know why Benezia joined Saren. I don't want anything to do with that turian bastard!" Liara said.

"If she was with Saren, the geth wouldn't be trying to kill her." John said and indicated Tali to free Liara. Tali pushed a button on the console and Liara was freed. She turned towards them and said, "Thank you, Commander. If you weren't here I would be trapped here forever or trapped until the geth found a way beyond the barrier."

"Any idea how we get out of this place?" Garrus asked.

"There is an elevator back in the center of the tower. At least, I think it's an elevator. It should take us out of here. Come on!" Liara said.

They hurried towards the elevator and got inside. Liara looked towards John after she activated the elevator. "I still can't believe all this. Why would the geth come after me? Do you think Benezia's involved?"

"Saren's looking for the Conduit. You're a Prothean expert. He probably wants you to help him find it." John replied.

"The Conduit? But I don't know…" She stopped as the whole tower shook violently. "These ruins are not stable. The mining laser must have triggered a seismic event. We have to hurry. The whole place is caving in!"

"Joker! Get the Normandy airborne and lock in on my signal. On the double, mister!" John said.

"Aye, eye, Commander. Secure and aweigh. ETA eight minutes." Joker replied through comm.

"Not much margin for error." Ashley commented.

They were about to exit the elevator but they found their way blocked by a krogan Battlemaster and about 10 geth. "Surrender. Or don't. That would be more fun." The krogan said.

"In case you didn't notice, this place is falling apart." John said.

"Exhilarating, isn't it?" The krogan said. "Thanks for getting rid of those energy fields for us. Hand the doctor over."

"Whatever it is you want, you're not getting it from me." Liara said.

"She'll stay with us, thanks." John said.

"Not an option. Saren wants her. And he gets what he wants." The krogan then turned towards the geth at his side and said, "Kill them. Spare the asari if you can. If not, doesn't matter."

They attacked immediately. John pushed Liara away from the geth fire. Tali hacked one of the geth which returned fire on its comrade. Wrex charged at the krogan Battlemaster and tackled him to the ground. They kept on head butting, punching and thrashing on the ground. The rest of them took down the geth easily. They turned towards the krogan Battlemaster only to find that Wrex fly away with a powerful kick from the krogan Battlemaster. He stood on his feet slowly and charged at Garrus slamming him into the wall. Garrus armor protected him from breaking his bones but he stars in his eyes nonetheless. Liara tried to attack the krogan with her biotics but he back handed her and she slumped against the wall. Tali fired at the krogan's back but he just faltered. He turned around and head butted her causing her face-plate to crack. She fell on the ground screaming in pain. Ashley punched the krogan but he didn't feel a thing. He grabbed her by her throat and lifted her off her feet. She struggled to catch her breath until John tackled the krogan to the ground. The krogan threw the Spectre away off him easily.

"Shepard, this krogan isn't ordinary. He is too strong even for a krogan." Wrex said lying on the ground.

John was up on his feet immediately. He prepared himself for the krogan's attack. But the krogan surprised him by throwing a strange object towards him which collided on his chest and started emitting green gas. He coughed.

"That's a special gift to you Shepard, from Saren." The krogan said.

John struggled because he could hear some faint sounds in his ears and his vision was becoming blurry. He slumped on the ground trying to lessen the dizziness he was feeling. He got in a dreamlike state. He saw that Miranda - his Miri was with him, in here. He couldn't make out her face properly but he knew that it was her. She was fighting with him against the krogan and the geth until the krogan grabbed her from behind around her neck. The SMG fell from her hand with a loud clank on the ground as the krogan snapped her neck. He then threw her lifeless body on the ground beside him. _No! No! This can't happen. No! It can't._ He panicked.

The krogan laughed. He looked towards the krogan and something inside him awakened from rage and grief.

Liara, Ashley, Garrus and Wrex looked towards their Commander shaking on the ground violently. "What did you do to him?" Ashley yelled.

"That's a simple mixture of…." He stopped as his eyes fell on something and turned wide. Everyone else jaw dropped at the scene before them. There was Shepard standing on his feet in front of them. His whole body was glowing with dark energy and his eyes….. His eyes were inhumanly glowing blue. He took a step towards the krogan who stepped back a little.

"You…. You killed her. You will die." He said coldly. With one swift move he was standing nose to nose with the krogan. The krogan Battlemaster gulped in fear. John grabbed the krogan with one hand and lifted him off his feet easily. Everyone's eyes widened more. John raised his hand in a fist and then he punched the krogan in his stomach. His punch was so powerful that his hand went right through his stomach. The krogan's eyes widened in pain and then his eyes closed slowly as he died. John threw the huge body of the krogan on the ground easily. He turned slowly towards his teammates who were watching him with their mouths wide open. Then the dark energy around his body slowly faded away, his eyes turned normal. Then he slumped to the ground and didn't move. They all hurried towards him. Garrus got to him first. He checked John and said, "He is only unconscious. Wrex can you carry him?"

Wrex nodded and lifted John's body gently over his shoulder. "Joker status!" Ashley barked in comm.

"ETA 1 minute!" Joker replied.

"Let's get out from here. The whole place is caving in." Liara said as she helped Tali who was still struggling with her face-plate.

**LOCATION UNKNOWN**

A man sat on a chair in a dark room puffing on his cigar. The walls of the room were made of glass and through the glass a huge star could be seen. The room of the door whooshed open and a woman walked inside.

The man spoke without looking back towards the woman, "It's good that you came soon Miranda. Humanity is in danger."

"What do you mean, sir?" Miranda asked.

"The footage we secured of Sovereign, tells only one thing. Sovereign is nothing but a Reaper."

Miranda's eyes widened. "Shepard has been sent to stop Saren but he is just one man. He can't do this alone. He will need our help even if the Alliance isn't ready to accept our assistance."

"Sir, what do you intend to do?" Miranda asked.

"Nothing at this moment. But when he needs help you must assist him without compromising your identity. So, be prepared. Here see this footage's."

Few images of Sovereign appeared along with the human husks. Miranda watched the images carefully. "What are these creatures?" She asked.

"They were humans being indoctrinated by the Reapers."

"Sir, I will need assistance."

"Permission granted."

Miranda nodded. The Illusive Man continued, "Shepard is our last hope. We cannot lose him. See to it Miranda."

"Yes, sir."


	11. The Connection

"Take him to the medical bay." Dr. Chakwas said urgently. Wrex gently laid the unconscious form of John on the bed. "What happened to him?" Dr. Chakwas asked the squad. She started preparing the machine to scan his body for injuries.

"By the Goddess it was unlike anything I had ever seen or heard of. He tried to protect me from a krogan Battlemaster. But the krogan hit him with an unknown substance and next second we knew he was shaking on the ground. The krogan was mocking us but in the next minute the Commander was up on his feet and….." Liara was cut off by Ashley.

"His whole body was glowing with biotic energy and his eyes….. they weren't even human. He fucking lifted a krogan with one hand as if that krogan was a toy and punched him through his stomach. And he mentioned someone being killed….. Some woman."

 _Oh no! It must be her. But she wasn't there with him. This only explains that whatever he was hit with, made him saw his worst nightmare and somehow he lost control. But still….._ Dr. Chakwas thought.

"He was stronger than a krogan at that time. Much stronger." Wrex added.

"After he killed the krogan he turned normal and then he collapsed on the ground." Garrus added and looked at Tali who was being treated by another doctor.

Dr. Chakwas didn't have any words to explain because she had no idea what this means because she knew the Commander for a long time and she also knew that he has no biotic implants and he didn't show any kind of biotic abilities in all those years. But the problem wasn't only that. She has never heard of someone getting almost 30 times stronger suddenly because of biotics. She looked towards the blue asari standing there with concerned eyes.

"Dr. Liara T'Soni, I presume?" Dr. Chakwas asked.

"Please call me Liara." The blue asari said.

"Liara can you explain what you saw…. I mean how could he use biotics? He has no implants. I am asking you this, because asaris have the best knowledge about biotics." Dr. Chakwas said.

"I am sorry. I don't have any kind of idea." Liara said.

"Will he be okay?" Ashley asked with concern.

"According to my scanner he has a fractured rib, nothing more. There is no sign of any kind of toxins inside his body either. But his brain activity is off the charts again and this time his pulse rate is rising. It's getting at dangerous level." Dr. Chakwas murmured tensely. She ordered them to evacuate the med bay. Tali also left after getting her helmet fixed. They all remained outside the med bay watching their Commander through the glass. Kaidan was also there.

"This is the second time he emitted biotics." Kaidan said.

"Second time?" Ashley asked surprised. "He did this before?"

"No not like this. You didn't notice on Eden Prime. I caught a glimpse of his eyes glowing in Eden Prime when we first saw the abominations. At that time I thought it was a trick of the light but now…." Kaidan explained. He looked towards the others and saw that everyone was looking at him with shocked expressions on their faces. At that moment Dr. Chakwas came out from the med-bay.

"Lieutenant, tell Joker to head towards Citadel. Things are not looking good." Dr. Chakwas said to Kaidan.

"At once, Doctor." He hurried away towards the bridge to inform Joker.

"What happened to him, Doctor?" Garrus asked.

"I don't know. I really don't know." Dr. Chakwas said sadly.

[/\\]

"Admiral we have an emergency call for you from the Normandy."

"Forward it to my private channel." Hannah replied.

She took the call in her room. "Hannah?" Dr. Chakwas voice sounded tense.

"Karin? Why are you calling me? Is everything okay?" Hannah asked with concern.

"No. Your son is not okay. Something happened to him and I don't know what. He is unconscious for over an hour." Chakwas replied.

"What do you mean something happened? Is he being shot?" Hannah asked urgently.

"No. He is not injured… at least physically. I informed Huerta hospital, we are on our way to Citadel."

"What happened to my son Karin?" Hannah asked a little loudly.

"I don't know. I can't explain everything to you now. I will explain once I reach Citadel."

"I will be there." Hannah ended the transmission.

[/\\]

"Everyone ready? This will be a simple operation. Your objective is to distract them. I will do the rest." Miranda said.

"Yes, mam." Her team nodded.

"Miss Lawson interrupted an incoming call from SSV Normandy to Admiral Shepard."

"Very well. Let's hear it."

The operative did as he was ordered.

" _Karin? Why are you calling me? Is everything okay?"_

" _No. Your son is not okay. Something happened to him and I don't know what. He is unconscious for over an hour."_

" _What do you mean something happened? Is he being shot?"_

" _No. He is not injured… at least physically. I informed Huerta hospital, we are on our way to Citadel."_

" _What happened to my son Karin?"_

" _I don't know. I can't explain everything to you now. I will explain once I reach Citadel."_

" _I will be there."_

"The Commander is down?" All of the operative's eyes widened in shock.

"It seems so." Miranda replied without any emotion. So, here is the plan. "They will let the doctors enter the Normandy to bring the Commander to the hospital. I will disguise myself as a doctor and enter the Normandy. You will distract the squad."

They all nodded in understanding.

[/\\]

The Normandy arrived at one of the docks of Citadel. The press immediately reached there as the news of Commander Shepard being down spread like a wild fire. The entire Normandy team was busy trying to keep the reporters at bay to let the doctors enter. The doctors got inside the Normandy and reached their patient but no one observed one woman got separated from the remaining doctors. She sneaked inside the elevator, hacked the Commander's cabin door and planted a bug. She exited the room quietly and took the elevator down to the med-bay. She reached near the glass of the med-bay and watched the Commander's unconscious form lying on the bed and doctors operating on him. She lingered there for few moments because she was feeling somewhat strange inside her heart after seeing him from so close. Something inside her was telling that she knew that handsome face, somehow.

She gathered her thoughts. _What are you doing Miranda? What is wrong with you?_ She got out from her thoughts and quietly left the Normandy without getting noticed. But if she remained a few seconds longer there she would have noticed the Commander was stirring.

[/\\]

"I think he is waking up." One of the doctor said.

"Thank god. This is a good sign." Another doctor commented. At the next second the doctors all jumped back in surprise as John sat up suddenly on his bed. His eyes were wide and he was looking everywhere around him as if he was trying to find someone.

"Commander are you feeling okay?" One of the doctor questioned but got no answer.

Dr. Chakwas requested the other doctors to leave when they were sure that John is okay. She sat down on the bed beside him and put her hand on his shoulder.

"John… you okay?" She asked softly.

"She came here didn't she?" He asked suddenly.

"Who are you talking about? Your mother is…"

"No. Not my mother. Miri was here. Wasn't she doctor?" He asked his voice almost pleading her to answer that he is right.

"John….. She is not here." She said trying to calm him down.

"No… no she was here. I know." He argued.

After that Dr. Chakwas calmed him down to see the fact that the woman he loves couldn't be here in the Normandy. It was impossible. He slowly realized that the doctor was right.

"I…. I don't know what's happening to me Doctor. I….."

"What exactly happened, John?"

"The krogan hit me with some strange gas and next I saw him killing her and then I can't remember anything." He said, his voice cracking with emotion. "Am I going crazy, doc?"

"No. Sometimes things like this happens to us because of mental pressure. You always think about her too much and you are doing this since you were 16. You just need to relax. How are you feeling now?"

"Too tired."

"Then sleep. The doctors will come for another examination."

He lay down and immediately drifted into sleep. Dr. Chakwas looked at his sleeping form sadly. She could only imagine the emotional pain this young man is feeling all the time whom she knew for almost 14 years and who was also like a son to her. She sighed and left the med-bay to get some food for herself.


	12. Help is on the way

"Ten more seconds out there and we would've been swimming in molten sulphur. The Normandy isn't equipped to land in exploding volcanoes. They tend to fry our sensors and melt our hull. Just for future reference." Joker said through comm. Ashley rolled her eyes although she had a bit of smile on her face.

"We almost died out there and your pilot is making jokes?" Liara asked John in surprise.

"It's a coping mechanism. You'll get used to it." John answered smiling.

"I see it must be a human thing. I don't have a lot of experience dealing with your species, Commander." Liara said embarrassed her eyes towards the floor. Then she looked up towards John with gratefulness in her eyes, "I am grateful to you, Commander. You saved my life back there and not just from the volcano. Those geth and especially that krogan would have killed me or dragged me off to Saren. The krogan could've killed us all, hadn't for you. You saved us all."

"Listen Liara. I may have somehow defeated that krogan but I blacked out in the end. If I was alone I would've died. Only because of my team I am still alive. This is what a team is built so you can help each other out. And all of you are not only my team-mates, you all are my friends." John said.

Liara smiled, "I understand, Shepard."

"What did Saren want with you? Do you know something about the Conduit?" Kaidan asked Liara.

"Only that it was somehow connected to the Prothean extinction. This is my real area of expertise. I have spent the past fifty years trying to figure out what happened to them." Liara explained.

 _Past fifty years! Wow!_ John thought, although he knew an asari lives for almost a thousand year. "How old are you?" He asked.

"I hate to admit it, but I'm only a hundred and six." Liara answered.

"Damn! I hope I look that good when I'm your age." Ashley said watching the Commander from the corner of her eyes. _I wish he looked at me the way I want him to._ She thought but she never saw any hint of affection for her in his eyes.

"A century may seem like a long time to a short-lived species like yours. But among the asari, I am barely considered more than a child. That is why my research has not received the attention it deserves. Because of my youth, other asari scholars tend to dismiss my theories on what happened to the Protheans." Liara sighed.

"Did your research turn up anything interesting?" John asked.

"What is interesting is what I did not turn up. There is remarkably little archaeological evidence of the Protheans and even less that might explain why they disappeared. It is almost as if someone didn't want the mystery solved. It's like someone came along after the Protheans were gone and cleansed the galaxy of clues." Liara explained.

"If the Protheans weren't the first, then who was?" John asked again.

"I don't know. There is barely any evidence on the Protheans. Even less on those who came before them. I cannot prove my theory, but I know I am right!" Liara said confidently.

"I can sense there is more…" Garrus said.

"Yes. The galaxy is built on a cycle of extinction. Each time a great civilization rises up, it is suddenly and violently cast down. Only ruins survive. The Protheans rose up from a single world until their empire spanned the entire galaxy. Yet even they climbed on top on the remains of those who came before. Their greatest achievements – the mass relays and the Citadel – are based on the technology of those who came before them. And then, like all other forgotten civilizations throughout galactic history, the Protheans disappeared. I have dedicated my life to figuring out why." Liara explained.

Everyone listened to Liara silently. John realized it all came down to one thing – The Reapers. They were behind the extinction of the civilizations. "They were wiped out by a race of sentient machines. The Reapers." He said to Liara.

"The…. The Reapers? But I have never heard of – How do you know this? What evidence do you have?" Liara asked confused.

"There was a damaged Prothean beacon on Eden Prime. It burned a vision into my brain. I'm still trying to sort out what it all means." John said as his voice trailed off. He could still remember what he saw next. The vision of her getting dead. He got out his trance when Liara started to speak again.

"Vision? Yes…. That makes sense. The beacons were designed to transmit information directly into the mind of the user. Finding one that still works is extremely rare. No wonder the geth attacked the Eden Prime. The chance to acquire a working beacon – even a badly damaged one – is worth almost any risk." She said excitedly. Then she looked towards John curiously. Noticing her stare, he asked, "What?"

"The beacons were only programmed to interact with Prothean physiology. Whatever information you received would have been confused, unclear. I am amazed you were able to make sense of it at all. A lesser mind would have been utterly destroyed by the process. You must be remarkably strong-willed, Commander." Liara said looking towards John with admiration in her eyes. Ashley noticed it and her eyes narrowed in jealousy. "This isn't helping us find Saren or the Conduit." She interrupted.

"Of course. You are right. I am sorry." Liara apologized. "My scientific curiosity got the better of me. Unfortunately, I do not have any information that could help you find the Conduit. Or Saren."

"I don't know why Saren wanted you out of the picture. But I think we'll be a lot better off if we bring you along." John said.

"Thank you, Commander. Saren might come after me again. I cannot think of anywhere safer than here on your ship. And my knowledge of the Protheans might be useful later on." Liara said.

"And her biotics might come in handy, when the fighting starts." Wrex said.

"Good to have you on the team, Liara." John smiled at her.

"Thank you, Commander. I am very gratef….." John quickly caught her from falling when she staggered. "Whoa! I am afraid I am feeling a little light-headed." She said not meeting John's eyes. One of her hand was on his chest and the other one was gripping his biceps. She could sense that how close she is to him and most of all she liked it. _What is this feelings?_ She thought. But she didn't realize that her cheeks were turning pink.

"Liara, you should go to Dr. Chakwas. Your face is turning red." John said with concern since he didn't realize that Liara was blushing.

"When was the last time you ate? Or slept?" Kaidan asked.

Liara pushed herself away from John. "It is probably just mental exhaustion, coupled with the shock of discovering the Prothean's true fate. I need some time to process all this." She said, still blushing. "Still it could not hurt to be examined by a medical professional. It will give me the chance to think things over. Are we finished here, Commander?"

"We can talk again after you've seen the doctor. The rest of you…. Dismissed!" John replied.

Liara left the room along with the others.

"Mission reports are filed, Commander. You want me to patch you through to the Council?" Joker said through comm.

"Patch them through, Joker." The Council's image appeared in the room after Joker linked the communication.

"We've received your report, Commander. I understand Dr. T'Soni is on the Normandy." The asari councilor said.

"I assume you are taking the necessary security precautions?" The turian councilor asked.

"Liara is on our side. The geth were trying to kill her." John said.

"Benezia would never allow Saren to kill her daughter." The asari councilor said.

"Maybe she doesn't know." The salarian councilor said.

"Or maybe we don't know her. We never expected she could become a traitor." The turian councilor added.

"At least the mission was a success." The salarian councilor commented.

"Apart from the utter destruction of a major Prothean ruin. Was that really necessary, Shepard?" The turian councilor asked with slight irritation in his voice.

"The geth were crawling all over those ruins. We were lucky to make it out alive." John answered.

"Of course, Commander. The mission must always take priority." The Salarian councilor nodded in understanding.

"Good luck, Commander. Remember we are all counting on you." The asari councilor said before ending the transmission.

"Commander, message coming in. Patching it through." Joker said.

"Commander, I'm glad you were in the area. We've got an emergency situation, and you're the only one I trust to get the job done." Admiral Hackett said.

"How can I help, Admiral?" John asked.

"Biotic fanatics have hit a medical research station with psychotropic drug. The drugs have temporarily driven researchers crazy, and the biotics are effectively using them as human shields." Hackett informed.

"I'll take the biotics down, Admiral, and I'll try to limit the casualties." John said.

"I know you will, Commander. I'm sending you the station coordinates now. Fifth Fleet out." The transmission ended.

[==]

**LOCATION UNKNOWN**

_So they are going to stop that drug from spreading? As far I read and heard about the Commander, he won't fire on the civilians even to defend himself. He is too idealistic. He needs someone to watch his back._ _I trust no one else in keeping him safe. If Shepard dies whatever hope the galaxy has against the Reapers will be gone. Time to take the matter in my hands now._ Miranda thought.

She got up from her seat and walked inside the bathroom to freshen up. She doesn't know what will happen next. She even doesn't know whether she will survive the mission or not. She wasn't worried about sacrificing herself for the sake of the galaxy but she was sad that if she dies she won't see _him_ ever again. And there are other matters also. When she was near the unconscious form of the Commander in the med-bay of the Normandy, she felt something which she couldn't explain. She felt some sort of connection which she hadn't felt for years since….. She was with _him_ – her John. This only confuses her more. She didn't knew the Commander at all because they have never met. But still….. These feelings is confusing her more and more. After returning from the Normandy she did a background check on him. His father died protecting his family and his mother is none other than Admiral Hannah Shepard. When he grew up he joined Alliance and the N7 training program. Later he earned the Star of Terra for his accomplishment in battlefield. But these were the facts that everyone knows. There was nothing suspicious about it except that there is no record about his childhood. That made her curious. She tried to dig in the extranet but found nothing. It seems that the information regarding his childhood is omitted from being recorded on purpose. But now she is planning to join his squad and after that she will solve the mystery of his childhood. She must for her own sake. She sighed and exited the bathroom but something fell from her pocket. She bent down to pick it up and then she opened it. Inside was two pictures. It was her and the other picture was of her one and only love, anchor, life and her world. She caressed his face on the image as a single tear leaked from her eyes and dropped on his picture as old memories filled her mind. Then she composed herself because she had a mission to accomplish. If she fails this mission then along with everyone he will also die and she cannot allow that, until her last breath. Her destination – Feros.


	13. Unexpected Ally

**LOCATION: FEROS, ZHU'S HOPE**

"Commander. My name is David al Talaqani. We saw your ship. Fai Dan wants to speak with you immediately." Said one of the guards at the docks of Feros.

"Who is Fai Dan?" John asked.

"He's our leader. He needs your help to prepare for the geth. They're making another push. Please. Up the stairs past the freighter." David replied. No sooner than he replied a rocket hit him on his back and he was blown apart. The squad immediately jumped to cover.

"The entire place is crawling with geth." Ashley said.

"Nice and easy people. Don't rush." John said from behind his cover.

The geth were using barriers to protect themselves. Their bullets could not penetrate the barriers at once. The path was narrow which made the fight more difficult since they couldn't flank their enemy.

"Scoped and down." Garrus commented after taking down a geth with his sniper.

"Liara create a singularity." John ordered.

Liara nodded in understanding and her body glowed with dark energy. She created a singularity just behind the geth where they were standing behind their barriers. They started to flow in the air immediately from the force of the singularity which exposed them to John's team. They took the floating geth down immediately by heavy fire. But there were more.

"Nice work, Liara." John said. Liara smiled in return.

Tali sent a combat drone to distract the geth standing far away with a rocket launcher. Using the distraction they pushed forward and Garrus getting the line of shot took it out by a single head-shot. Ashley threw a grenade towards the remaining geth who were hiding behind a cover. The explosion of the grenade killed two of them and the other flew away and smashed into the wall by the force. Kaidan finished it off with several shots from his pistol. The squad pushed forward and found the stairs that David mentioned. On the stairs they were ambushed by the geth stalkers. These particular geth are very fast and could stick to any surface. But the stalkers were no match for the John's team. The stalkers were dead before they could attack. After finishing them off the team reached the area where the colonists took shelter from the geth attack. John saw many injured colonists lying on the ground untreated. He indicated his squad to give them first-aid because he couldn't see them suffering like that. The area showed evidence of utter destruction. He moved forward and found the leader of the colonists – Fai Dan.

"Oh, Commander. I'm glad they finally sent somebody to help us." Fai Dan said in relief.

"You're a bit late, aren't you?" The female colonist standing with Fai Dan spat out angrily looking at John and his team.

"Arcelia!" Fai Dan warned.

"Sorry, Commander." Fai Dan apologized. "Everyone's on edge since….." Fai Dan couldn't finish his sentence as more geth appeared.

"We've got geth in the tower." Arcelia said.

"Leave it to us." John said readying his assault rifle.

John and his team killed all the geth in no time. "Now we can update Fai Dan and get a vehicle safely out of the Normandy. The geth base is our next objective." Liara said.

"Let's inform Fai Dan." John said.

**[==]**

"The tower is secure. Thanks to you, Commander." Fai Dan said with gratefulness in his tone.

"I'm just glad your colony is safe." John said.

"I appreciate your concern…. And your efforts against the geth." Fai Dan said.

"They may have been slowed, but they'll come back. They always come back." Arcelia said.

"Help me find the geth and you'll all get out of here alive." John said.

"What do they want?" Ashley asked.

"If you want answers, go ask them yourselves." Arcelia spat looking at John.

"Why you ungrateful woman….." Ashley began but was stopped by John.

"We don't know what they're after. They came, they attacked us. That's all we know. The main base is at the ExoGeni headquarters. A good place to start looking if you want answers." Fai Dan said.

"What's ExoGeni?" Kaidan asked.

"It's the company most of us worked before the attacks. They fund this colony." Alicia answered.

"The skyway leads directly to ExoGeni headquarters. You can't miss it. Of course there's an army of geth between here and there." Fai Dan explained.

"Why I am not surprised…." Tali commented.

"We'll get going then." John said and contacted Joker for the vehicle. The team followed him except Ashley who was lingering behind. She was glaring at Arcelia and was ready to punch her in the face. _How could that woman be ungrateful and rude to the man who saved not only her ass but the entire colony?_ She thought. She walked forward towards Arcelia and stood with her nose to nose. "You disrespect the Commander again, I will break your face woman!" Ashley threatened her, turned back and followed the team towards the Normandy. Arcelia just stood there with wide eyes, dumbfounded.

**[==]**

The team took an elevator to the Prothean skyway where they found two colonists fighting against the geth assault drones. Garrus and Kaidan took care of the drones with their sniper before they could do any kind of damage. After taking down the drones they boarded a Mako which was there.

"Shepard, don't you drive this time." Garrus said with fear in his eyes.

"Why shouldn't he drive?" Liara asked confused.

"Well T'Soni you didn't saw his driving, that's why you didn't know." Garrus replied.

"Not now Garrus. Let's get going." John said.

"Oh no! Not again!" Tali pleaded. Kaidan sneakered hearing watching their horrified faces… well except Tali and Liara's. Tali's face couldn't be seen because of her mask and Liara just looked confused. Ashley just gulped and Garrus' eyes were wide with fear. Kaidan shook his head and took a seat beside Liara.

"All right, heading for the geth base. Let's take it to them." Ashley said trying to lighten the situation. When the door opened in front of them, John saw a geth drop ship flew above them and drop geth shock troopers and armature in the squad's path. The geth armature started to attack the Mako from distance. John dodged one of their attack narrowly and for avoiding the fire he had to make the Mako jump over an obstacle. As the Mako fell on the ground it gave a violent jerk.

"Ow!" Garrus said as his head collided with the roof of the Mako. Garrus turned left to see that Liara was also rubbing her head. He turned to Kaidan and Tali who were both seated smugly with their helmets on. Ashley was beside John handling the gun. She was also wearing her helmet. Garrus almost face-palmed himself. Almost. He should have learnt from his experience then he wouldn't have felt the pain on his head. He lifted his helmet and placed it securely over his helmet. Garrus could see Kaidan was smirking at him and he could hear Tali's giggles. Next he saw that Liara's eyes also turned wide as the vehicle gave another violent jerk. Now, he smirked under his helmet at the young asari's expression.

"Commander, there is a camp out there. They seemed to be the survivors of the geth attack." Ashley said when they entered another door.

"Let's go and take a look." John said."

**[==]**

When the team approached the camp everyone was on high alert but when they realized they were not the geth, the survivors relaxed.

"Relax, Jeong. They're obviously not geth." An old woman said to an Asian man.

The man named Jeong still didn't relax though. He watched John and his team with suspicion in his eyes. "Get back, Juliana." Jeong said to the woman. He turned towards the team and asked, "Who are you? What do you want?"

"Commander Shepard. We are here to remove your geth problem." John answered.

"You see? You worry too much." Juliana said.

"And you trust too easily, Juliana." Jeong shot back.

"I'm just glad to see a friendly face. I thought we were the only humans left on this planet." Juliana said.

"Fai Dan and some members of Zhu's Hope are still alive." John said to them.

Juliana turned sharply towards Jeong, "I thought you said they were all dead."

"I said they were 'probably' all dead." Jeong defended himself.

"They're surviving but the geth really hit them hard." Garrus said.

"We know what that's like. Those damn synthetics are relentless." Juliana said frustrated.

"Are we getting closer to their base?" Garrus asked.

"You're almost there. They're holed up in the ExoGeni headquarters, just a bit further down the skyway." Juliana explained.

"Those headquarters are private property, soldier. Remove the geth and nothing else." Jeong said sternly.

"I don't like that man." Ashley whispered to Kaidan.

"I don't either. He is damn too irritating." Kaidan whispered back.

"Relax. I'm not interested in your company secrets." John said and turned to leave but Juliana stopped him. "Commander, before you go… My daughter, Lizbeth. She's missing…"

"They shouldn't waste time poking around." Jeong said.

That sentence broke down all of John's patience. He knew the pain of losing a loved one. He grabbed the front of Jeong's shirt and pulled him towards him with one hand. "She's not talking with you or burdening you with anything. Don't tell me what I should do, you understand? And shut your mouth or I will do it for you and I'm sure you won't like it." John threatened. Jeong gulped and nodded his head in understanding. John let go of him and pushed him away.

"Way to go, Commander." Ashley whispered to no one.

"Thank you, Commander for shutting his mouth. He is damn too… Anyways, my daughter is out there and I know that she is still alive." Juliana said.

"Where is your daughter, Juliana?" John asked softly.

"She was working in the ExoGeni building when the attacks came. Please, Commander bring my daughter back. I have no one else except her." Juliana pleaded with tear filled eyes.

John walked forward towards the elderly woman and took her hands in his. "I will do everything in my power to bring her back, if she is still alive." He assured Juliana.

"Thank you, Commander. Thank you." She said with trembled voice.

"Stay bunkered down here until I find out what the geth are after." John said to the survivors after stepping away from Juliana.

"We will, Commander." Juliana said.

**[==]**

After leaving the camp the team took the Mako again and drove towards the ExoGeni building.

"Why the geth are so much interested in that particular research center?" Garrus asked.

"Don't know. Maybe the geth are after what they are researching in there…." Tali said.

"That can be the reason behind the frequent geth attacks." Liara said.

"Whatever may be the reason, we need to take them down." Kaidan said.

"You are right Lieutenant." Tali agreed.

After driving for some time and killing several geth forces in their way, they reached at the end of the road. "Looks like we have arrived." John said.

"It seems so." Liara said.

The team exited the vehicle to see the utter destruction at that place. "The geth really hit them hard." Garrus said.

"Yeah." Kaidan agreed observing his surroundings.

Suddenly a gun shot missed Ashley by inches. Instinctively all of them pointed their gun at the direction from which the shot came. There was a young woman standing with a pistol in her hand. She looked scared and nervous. "I…. I am sorry. I thought you were geth or one of those varren." She said.

"You're safe now. But why were you here in the first place?" John said holstering his weapon.

"It's my own fault. Everyone else was running and I stayed to back up data. Next thing I knew, the geth ship latched on and the power went out. I was trapped. I tried to get out, but the way was blocked and I was surrounded by the geth." She explained.

"How did you survive the geth?" John asked curios.

"A woman saved me. She came out of nowhere and took down all the geth by a single EMP blast. She questioned me about our research data and left me there." She explained.

"Where did that woman go?" John asked.

"She went towards that geth ship." She answered.

"Look. I'm here for the geth. It's very important that I find out what they're after." John said.

"I don't know for certain, but I'm guessing they're here for the Thorian." She replied.

"Thorian? I've never heard of such a thing." Liara said.

"It's an indigenous life-form. ExoGeni was studying it." She explained.

"Where is the Thorian?" John asked.

"I cannot help you because of those geth crawling around. Look, we need to get out of here, past that field." She pleaded.

"Do you know how we can shut it down?" Tali asked.

"No, not exactly. But I think the geth ship is powering it. I've noticed the geth laying power cables everywhere. You could follow those cables, but there's geth all over the place. But here take this, this will grant you access to any locked doors." She warned them.

"We will get going then." John said.

"Commander… have you seen an elderly woman on your way?" She asked softly with hope.

"Your mother is alive Lizbeth and I promised her that I will take you back to her in one piece." John said.

"She…. she's alive?" Lizbeth wanted to make sure that she heard correct.

"Yeah she is okay and waiting for your return." John said. Lizbeth smiled in relief. "I will hide in a hole somewhere, until you come back."

"No. Get in the Mako and hide there." John gave her the access to get inside the Mako.

"You don't have to tell me twice. Thank you, Commander." She said and ran towards the Mako.

As soon as she left the entire team was surrounded by varrens. But to them they were no threat at all. Liara took care of few of the varrens with her biotics and the rest were gunned down by the others.

"Where did these varrens came from and here of this place?" Garrus asked.

"It seems a bit strange to find varrens here." Tali said.

"We should keep our eyes open." John said and started moving forward.

They found some steps and while climbing it they heard a krogan cursing someone. When they reached the upper level they saw the krogan was standing in front of a VI which was refusing to give him answers. Sensing their presence the krogan Battlemaster attacked them. This krogan seemed as powerful as the one they encountered during in Therum but this time they were ready. They took down the krogan with perfect tactics and combination of biotic, tech power and bullets.

"What was a krogan doing here?" Kaidan asked.

"This krogan was one of Saren's servants. There can be more." John said as he approached the VI.

"What's going on here?" John asked the VI.

"I am unable to comply. Please contact your supervisor." It responded.

John used Lizbeth's ID but the VI still responded the same way. "Lizbeth's ID should have worked." John said.

"Not if someone hacked it and disabled all the communications." Tali said.

"Can you fix it Tali?" John asked.

"I don't know Shepard. Even if I could, it will take time. Whoever did this, damaged the entire system." Tali answered.

"We don't have much time." Garrus said. John agreed.

"Then we should move forward." John said.

**[==]**

They reached the geth ship at last after taking down few enhanced krogans and many geth in their way. The claws of the geth ship came through the wall and from its claws huge cables came out.

"The geth must have anchored their ship to the side of the building with these claws." Garrus observed.

"Indelicate, perhaps, but very efficient. How do we cut the power if it's coming from the ship?" Liara asked.

"Could the ship be dislodged? Maybe there's a flaw in one of the other claws we could exploit." Garrus offered.

"Let's move forward and find out." John said. They moved forward and found the next claw of the ship and a lot of geth foot soldiers. They were able to take down the geth without any problem.

"I fear we do no not have the needed gear to take down this claw. We will have to keep looking." Tali said.

They moved forward again and heard gun fire.

"Gun fire…" Liara said.

"More survivors?" Ashley asked.

"Let's find out." John said as he rushed forward.

There they found a woman with her back towards them working on a console and several dead bodies of the geth lay at her feet. Hearing footsteps behind her, she whirled around and pointed her SMG at them. When she realized that they are not the geth she holstered her gun and turned back to resume working on the console.

"Who's that?" Ashley said.

"Must be the woman who saved Lizbeth." John said as she walked forward towards the woman. He observed the woman carefully. She had short black hair, dark skin and her height was almost as of himself. She didn't looked at him though even after detecting his presence. She continued typing on the console.

"What are you doing?" John asked.

"Trying to cut that claw off." She said.

"Who are….." John's words were cut off as something blasted near him. The force of it threw both of them away from the console.

He looked up from his position on the ground to find that more geth arrived. John's team wasted no time firing on the geth. But they missed one which fired a rocket towards the woman. John saw it and he lunged forward and took the woman down with him on the ground. The rocket missed them by inches and impacted on the wall next to them. Debris flew and fell on them. John protected the woman with his own body. Garrus took the geth rocket trooper with a head-shot from his sniper. John pushed away the debris from over his body and looked towards the woman to ask whether she was hurt.

"Miss, are you….." John words stopped when he saw her eyes. Those blue eyes….. He knew those eyes. They belonged to the girl he loved – Miranda Lawson. The woman was also looking towards his eyes and they were both caught in some kind of trance. Ashley observed that her Commander was lying on top of that unknown woman looking towards her face. Their face was too close to each other for her liking. She saw that even when they approached the two they didn't even acknowledged their presence. Watching this her blood boiled.

"Shepard…. You okay?" Garrus asked placing his hand on John's back. That got John out of his trance. He looked towards Garrus with an expression as if he has no idea where he is at the moment. "I…. yeah, I am okay." He said and pulled himself off from top of that woman's body. Liara helped the woman to get up on her feet. It seems her leg got injured somehow from the impact. She unsteadily got herself up on her feet and walked towards the console again. With few strokes of her finger a huge blast door came down on top of the geth claw destroying it completely which resulted the geth ship to get detached from the wall. Liara didn't say anything but she observed that strange woman with keen eyes.

"Are you the one who saved Lizbeth down in the lab?" John asked.

"Yeah." She replied.

"And you are….." Ashley asked.

The woman looked towards John and answered, "Alicia Martinez. I was among the top members of the ExoGeni research lab. But they dismissed me a few months ago."

"Why?" John asked.

"I didn't know why at that time but now I know." Alicia said and then she played an audio log on her omni tool. The audio log was about the Thorian. It explained that the Thorian can infect and control other organisms including humans and it also revealed that 85% of the test subjects were infected during that time. The ExoGeni researchers knew their people were getting infected but still they carried on.

"This explains their strange behavior." Liara said.

"Well done Alicia. We appreciate your help. Tell me one thing though. Did you hacked that VI down there?" John asked.

"Yes. I saw those krogans, so I took a necessary precaution." Alicia answered.

"Well done! Our way out should be clear now. We can go address this Thorian issue." Liara said.

"Keep your guard up. There still might be a few geth inside the base." John said to his team.

They were about to move when they heard Joker's voice in comm. " _I repeat, Normandy to shore party. Are you reading? Anyone there? Normandy to shore party. Come on Commander, talk to me!"_

"I hear you Joker. What's going on over there?" John asked.

" _We are in lockdown here, Commander. Something happened to the colonists. They're banging on the hull, trying to claw their way inside the ship. They're freaking out!_ "

"They can't do any real damage. We're on our way back. Just hold your position." John said.

" _Uh… yeah. Okay. Well, we'll just wait right here for you, Commander_."

"All right people, you know the drill. Let's move out." John said.

"Wait, Commander." Alicia stopped them. "I want to help."

"Are you sure Alicia?" John asked.

"Positive and I think you know that I am well versed in combat. I won't let you down, Commander." Alicia said.

"Yeah, I saw that. Well fall in line." John replied as they turned back towards the place where they left Lizbeth.


	14. The Legend comes true

**FEW MINUTES LATER**

"So what's your story Alicia?" John asked.

"There's nothing much to tell. I worked in the ExoGeni for years. But one day things were getting suspicious. I tried to pry on my superiors but I couldn't find anything at all. After few days I was kicked out from there. I asked them what I had done but they gave me no explanation. They just told me I wasn't needed there anymore." Alicia explained.

"You knew nothing about their experiment on the Thorian?" Garrus asked.

"No. I was kicked out before they started experimenting on it. But I came back one day in the hope to get my job back and saw some unusual behavior among the workers. Later I learned that the Thorian has the ability to infect and mind control organics. I tried to get some evidence but I was caught. They tried to use me for the experiment but I escaped, somehow." Alicia replied.

"You were just a worker. How did you learn to fight like that?" Ashley asked with suspicious eyes.

"Aside from working here I took some combat training, for safety." Alicia said.

"You did good job out there, Alicia. We couldn't have done it without you." John appreciated her with a smile.

"I…. It was my job, Commander." Alicia stuttered slightly.

"And you do damn good job. Thanks." John said. The rest of the team gave her appreciative smiles except Ashley. They resumed walking forward but no one saw that Alicia's cheeks turned pink when John appreciated her. That's why she stuttered. Under the disguise of Alicia, there was Miranda Lawson who hadn't been appreciated in anything she had done. No one encouraged her except one boy and now this man walking in front of her. _His eyes and his smile, they are exactly like John. Could Commander Shepard be her John?_ She thought. Whether she was appreciated or not because of her work never mattered to her over these years she worked for Cerberus but now…. She stuttered and she could feel the old Miri, which she kept hidden from everybody is starting to surface again and Commander Shepard is responsible for it, solely. She couldn't help but felt that something is special about this man. What is that she didn't know… and that frustrated her to no means.

**[==]**

"There you are!" Lizbeth said when she saw the Commander is back. Then her eyes fell on the dark skinned woman among the squad. "You!" Lizbeth exclaimed. "I cannot thank you and the Commander enough for saving my life. First you and then the Commander." Lizbeth said holding Alicia's hand in hers. Alicia gave her a small smile and squeezed her hand in return.

"Commander, we should get out from here. I don't think this place is safe." Lizbeth said.

"I need some answers before we leave. You tell me all the details about the Thorian. You knew and you didn't tell me." John said.

"I…. I was afraid. I wanted to stop the tests, but they threatened me, told me I'd be next. When the geth attacked, I stayed behind to send a message to Colonial Affairs. I tried to call them where to find the Thorian, but the power cut before I could send the message. I….. I never meant for this to happen." Lizbeth admitted with her head lowered.

"You did what you could. I'll help them if you can tell me where to find the Thorian." John said.

"The Thorian is underneath Zhu's Hope, but the entrance is blocked. The colonists covered it with the freighter just before the geth attacked." Lizbeth said.

"But why are the geth after the Thorian? What could Saren want with it?" John asked Lizbeth.

"Well, it does have unique mind-control capabilities. That's what ExoGeni was interested in." Lizbeth said."

At that time John heard joker's voice in comm. "What is it Joker?"

"We're getting a lot of geth comm chatter. Looks like they headed your way." Joker informed.

"Thanks for the heads-up, Joker. You heard the man, let's move out." John said.

**[==]**

**AT THE CAMP….**

"You can't do this Jeong!" Juliana shouted.

"Everyone shut up! Let me think!" Jeong shouted back.

John and his team along with Lizbeth was watching the whole scene. "What's going on?" Lizbeth whispered.

"You won't get away with this." Juliana reasoned.

"Get her out of here!" Jeong ordered the guards. One of the guards came forward and grabbed Juliana and tried to drag her away from there. Lizbeth saw enough. She left her cover and marched among the chaos. "Get away from her, you son of a bitch!" She shouted attracting everyone's attention.

"Lizbeth!" Juliana shouted in relief. She freed herself from the guard and came rushing towards her daughter engulfing her in a tight hug.

"I am okay, mother." Lizbeth soother her mother.

"Damn it! Come out where I can see you! All of you!" Jeong shouted in frustration.

John realized there was no other way than to show themselves. But from the corner from his eyes he saw that Alicia already crept inside behind the guards who had their guns trained on their direction. John signaled his team to leave the cover and show themselves. They slowly walked forward and approached Jeong.

"Hah, Shepard. Damn it! I knew it was too much to hope that the geth would kill you. I found some interesting facts about you in the ExoGeni database. I know what you did during the Blitz, but your heroics aren't needed here." Jeong said with sarcasm.

"What do you think you are doing, Jeong?" Shepard asked.

"Communications are back up. ExoGeni wants this place purged." Jeong said.

"This is a human colony, Jeong. You can't just repurpose us." Lizbeth said.

Jeong turned towards Lizbeth, "It's not just you. There's something far more valuable than a few colonists."

"You're after the one unique thing Feros has: The Thorian." John concluded.

"The what?" Juliana asked confused.

"It's a telepathic life-form living under Zhu's Hope." Lizbeth answered her mother.

"You won't get away with this Jeong." Juliana said.

"So you keep saying. But nobody's going to miss a few colonists. I am not letting this opportunity go." Jeong said. With his signal his guards turned their guns on John and his team. The team was trained their guns on the guards. Within blink of an eye John and his team shot at the guards hands forcing them to drop their weapons. Jeong realized that he was outnumbered. He surprised his opponents by pulling out a pistol and grabbed Juliana, placing the gun at the side of her head.

"Let me go, or she dies." Jeong threatened. "Put your guns down. Now!" He yelled.

John complied and his team followed. But Jeong didn't know someone crept behind him. Alicia delivered a blow to his right hand causing his pistol to drop. But Jeong surprised her by turning quickly and grabbing her throat. She groaned from the pressure on her throat. John started to move forward to help her but she surprised him by quickly turning on her spot and slamming Jeong on her back. Jeong groaned in pain as he saw stars in his eyes.

"You okay Alicia?" John asked.

"I am okay, Commander." She replied evenly.

"Thank you, you just saved my life." Juliana said to Alicia.

"She also saved my life in the lab mother." Lizbeth acknowledged.

Juliana's eyes show the gratitude she was feeling. "I cannot thank you enough. God, bless you." She blessed Alicia.

"Thank you." Alicia said with a small smile. Everything was under the control again as the other survivors sighed in relief. But Alicia didn't notice that during her struggle with Jeong one of her most prized possession dropped on the ground from her pocket.

John turned towards Lizbeth. "How do we save the infected colonists? By killing the Thorian?"

"It's a possibility but I'm not sure." Lizbeth said.

"It's worth a try. But I don't know if I can avoid harming the colonists." John said.

"There has to be another way." Lizbeth said.

"I think there's a way to avoid killing the colonists." Juliana said.

"How do we do that?" Alicia asked.

"I think you could safely use a nerve agent to neutralize the colonists. Like a gas grenade." Juliana said.

"I'll try my best. Thanks for the help Juliana." John said.

"Don't mention it Commander. You saved my daughter. I will never forget it." Juliana paused and came towards John. "You are a good man Commander Shepard. Your mother will be so proud of you. If I was your mother I would've." Juliana smiled.

"Thanks." John said with a smile. _I wish another person could was also proud of me._ He thought. Then his eyes caught something on the ground. Curiously he went to check it. It was a locket and he knew that locket because he bought it long ago for his Miri. He picked it up and opened it to be sure. His eyes widened in shock. It was indeed the same locket because inside there was a picture of Miri and his own. His eyes misted as the memories came rushing back. But how did it came here of all places? He couldn't figure that out. She couldn't be here? Could she? But last time when he woke up in the med-bay of the Normandy he felt her presence there and he is also feeling it here for quite a while now. What's happening? If she is here, then why couldn't he see her anywhere? John got lost in his own thoughts about his Miri.

The team left the colonists there. They were about to board the Mako when they felt the absence of their Commander.

"Where's Shepard?" Garrus asked.

"I don't see…. There he is….. What is he doing there?" Ashley said.

"Let me." Kaidan said and he walked towards John.

"Commander. It's time to go." Kaidan said to John. Kaidan was surprised when the Commander turned towards him. The Commander's eyes were filled with unshed tears. "Shepard, what happened?" Kaidan asked concerned.

John already composed himself at that time. "Nothing, let's go. Somehow this place reminded me of an old friend I lost long ago." He replied. When they arrived the Mako Garrus said to John, "This time, I am driving. No arguments, Commander." He gave a turian grin. Everyone expected Shepard to argue but he didn't even acknowledged his teasing. He just entered the Mako and slumped into the back seat closing his eyes.

"What happened to him?" Ashley asked Kaidan.

"He said he got reminded of some past memories which weren't happy." Kaidan shrugged.

Liara and Garrus observed John. They both realized there was something more than he let on. Alicia just looked as the others because she had no clue what caused the Commander's mood to change suddenly. They both took their seats and Garrus started driving the Mako back to the colony but none noticed a single tear fell from their Commander's closed eyes.

**[==]**

**ZHU'S HOPE**

As soon as the team left the Mako the colonists started to fire on them. They took cover but didn't return the fire as the enemy were all civilians and under the control of the Thorian. They subdued the civilians with the gas grenades that Juliana provided. But the entire area was swarmed by Thorian creepers. They looked like the human abominations. The team opened fire on them. Tech and biotics attacks combined with bullets took down the creepers for good.

"Looks like the path is safe for us now." Garrus commented.

"Yeah. I cannot see any civilians out there anymore." Tali said.

"What the hell were those things?" Tali asked.

"They were almost like the creatures we encountered on Eden Prime." Kaidan said.

"Let's find the entrance to the underground." John said.

They easily located the underground entrance and made their way inside.

"Okay we will just have to find this thing and put a couple of rounds…" She stopped as her eyes fell on a huge creature before them.

"We will need bigger guns." Liara said.

"This may be problematic….." John said. He watched that the Thorian had many tendrils which was spread all over the place. Those tendrils kept it from falling down into the abyss. But no sooner than the words left his mouth a green asari emerged from inside the mouth of the Thorian and dropped in front of them.

"Invaders! Your every step is a transgression. A thousand feelers appraise you as meat, good only to dig or decompose. I speak for the old growth, as I did for Saren. You are within and before the Thorian. It commands that you be in awe!" The asari said in a strange voice.

"You gave something to Saren. Something I need." John said.

"Saren sought knowledge of those who are gone. The Old Growth listened to flesh for the first time in the Long Cycle. Trades were made. Then cold ones began killing the flesh that would tend to the next cycle. Flesh fairly given! The Old Growth sees the air you push as lies! It will listen no more!" The asari replied.

"Give me back what I need and I'll strike back the one who betrayed you." John said.

"No more the Thorian will listen to those that scurry. Your lives are short, but have gone on too long." The asari said and attacked them. She was taken down immediately from the joint gun fire but more creepers appeared out of nowhere.

"Cut those tendrils and it will fall down." John said.

They began to fire on the creepers and kept on pushing forward towards the nodes of the Thorian that were attached to the wall. One by one they started to destroy those nodes. A few more asari clones appeared from inside the Thorian. They were also taken down in similar ways in no time. When the last tendril was destroyed the Thorian fell deep into the abyss. After it fell an asari emerged from inside a spore on the wall. She fell down on her knee on the ground and coughed violently. The team kept their guns pointed towards the asari.

"I'm free. I'm free." The asari exclaimed delightfully. Then she looked towards John and said, "I…. I suppose I should thank you for releasing me."

"How did you end up inside that…. thing?" John asked.

"My name is Shiala. I serve….. I served Matriarch Benezia. When she allied herself with Saren, so did I. Benezia foresaw the influence Saren would have. She joined him to guide him down a gentler path. But Saren is compelling. Benezia lost her way." Shiala said.

"Are you saying Saren can control minds?" John enquired.

"Benezia underestimated Saren. As I did. We came to believe in his cause and his goals. The strength of his influence is troubling." Shiala explained.

"Benezia sought to turn the river and was swept away." Liara said.

"Asari Matriarchs are among the most intelligent and powerful beings in the galaxy. How could one fall under Saren's control?" Alicia asked.

"Saren has a vessel. An enormous warship unlike anything I've ever seen. He calls it Sovereign. It can dominate the minds of his followers. They become indoctrinated to Saren's will. The process is subtle. It can take days, weeks. But in the end, it is absolute. I was a willing slave when Saren brought me to this world. He needed my biotics to communicate with the Thorian, to learn its secrets. Saren offered me in trade. I was sacrificed to secure an alliance between Saren and the Thorian." Shiala said.

"Saren's pretty quick to betray his own people." Garrus said.

"He was quick to betray the Thorian too. After he had what he wanted, he ordered the geth to destroy all evidence of its existence. Saren knows you are searching for the Conduit. He knows you are following his steps. He attacked the Thorian so you could not gain the Cipher." Shiala answered.

"What's the Cipher? And why did Saren need it?" John asked.

"The beacon on Eden Prime gave you visions. But they were unclear, confusing. They were meant for a Prothean mind. To truly comprehend them, you must think like a Prothean. You must understand their culture, their history, their very existence. The Thorian was here long before the Protheans built this city. It watched and studied then. When they died, it consumed them. They became a part of it." Shiala explained.

"So the Thorian taught Saren to think like a Prothean? How?" John asked.

"The Cipher is the very essence of being a Prothean. It cannot be described or explained. It would be like describing color to a creature without eyes. To understand, you must have access to endemic memory. A viewpoint spanning thousands of Prothean generations. I sensed this ancestral memory – The Cipher – when I melded with the Thorian. Our identities merged, our minds intertwined. Such knowledge cannot be taught, it simply exists." Shiala said.

"I need that knowledge to stop Saren!" John said urgently.

"There is a way. I can transfer the knowledge from my mind to yours, as I did with Saren. Try to relax, Commander. Slow, deep breaths. Let go of your physical shell. Reach out to grasp the threads that bind us, one to another." She paused and spoke again when her eyes turned black, "Embrace Eternity!"

Shiala began to transfer the knowledge to John's mind. Then she felt something….. Something inside his mind. Her eyes suddenly opened as she was shocked. "It cannot be….." She whispered. "The legend is true indeed." Then she looked towards john with deep respect in her eyes. But her next action shocked everyone. She bent down on one knee and bowed to John. "My life is a success." She again whispered.

"What are you doing?" John asked confused.

"I….. I have given you the Cipher. Now if you let me go, I would like to help the colonists and make amends." Shiala stuttered. Everyone saw that she was crying silently and they were tears of happiness.

"Very well….. You may go. But don't make me regret my decision to let you go." John said.

"You won't regret it Commander. I give you my word." She gave one last bow and left.

"What was that about?" Ashley asked confused as the others. John just shrugged.


	15. The Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter a bond is assumed to form between the four of them during the previous incidents. I didn't explain the small talks as I thought it was unnecessary. When I played ME2 and ME3, I formed my opinion that John saw Liara, Tali and Garrus as his closest friends and almost as brother and sister. Maybe I am wrong but that was my belief since whenever I played I chose Miranda.

**NORMANDY**

"Commander? You…. Look pale. Are you suffering any ill effects from the Cipher?" Liara voiced her concern. Others were also looking at John with concern evident in their eyes. The reason of their concern was that he just faltered in his steps while returning to the Normandy. He almost fainted.

"I just need some time to let this Cipher do its thing." John answered evenly.

"So, Commander. What was Shiala talking about?" Kaidan asked.

"Yeah, her behavior was strange. I never saw an asari bowing to a human before." Ashley commented.

"She was talking about some legend…. Wasn't she?" Alicia added.

"Yeah but we have no idea what she was talking about. Personally, I think she made some kind of mistake. Just forget it. It was nothing. We should focus on the task in our hand." John said.

"Yeah, right." Garrus said.

"I might be able to help you. I am an expert on the Protheans. If I join my consciousness to yours maybe we can make some sense of it." Liara made the proposal.

John thought for a moment then said, "All right do it, Liara."

Liara said the same words as Shiala as her eyes turned black and she placed her hands on both side of John's head. Then it happened so suddenly that everyone got shocked. With a scream, Liara jumped away from John breaking their consciousness. She kept on breathing heavily sitting on a chair. John himself was also shocked.

"What happened Liara?" John said with concern.

"You….." Whatever she was about to say she didn't say it. "It was nothing, just a shock from seeing those images inside your mind." Liara said. She continued, "That was incredible. All this time. All my research. Yet I never dreamed….. I'm sorry. The images were so vivid. I never imagined the experience would be so…. intense. You are remarkably strong-willed, Commander. What you've been through, what you've seen, would have destroyed a lesser mind." Liara said.

"Come on. Get to the point. What did you see?" Ashley said irritated.

"The beacon on Eden Prime have been badly damaged. Large parts of the vision are missing. The data transferred into the commander's mind is incomplete." Liara said.

"You must have seen something." John said.

"I was able to interpret the data relayed through your vision. What was there, at least. But something was missing. Saren must have the missing information. Maybe he found another beacon. If we can find the missing data from your vision I can…. Whoa!" She stumbled. "The joining is…. Exhausting. I should go to the medical bay and lie down for a moment."

"Dr. Chakwas should take a look at you." John said.

"That won't be necessary. I just need some rest. Somewhere quiet." Liara said.

"We're done here. And we are on shore leave for the next 6 hours. Dismissed!" John said as he watched everyone walking away from the room but Alicia stopped just at the doorway and looked towards him for a moment. Then she turned away and left leaving him confused. John sighed and sat down on a chair. He took out the locket from his pocket and opened it. He looked at her picture. She was giving him her brilliant smile which he loved to see and those beautiful blue eyes full of mischief.

"I wish you were here with me now, Miri because this John is nothing without you by his side." John whispered as he caressed her picture inside the locket.

[==]

**IN A BAR AT THE CITADEL…..**

"Where's the Commander? I thought he was going to join us here." Liara asked Garrus.

"He is coming. Why Liara? Do you have, you know…. As humans say, a crush on him?" Garrus teased.

Liara's blue cheeks turned pink as she averted his eyes. "Hah! I was right. You do like him." Garrus laughed.

"It's not like that. I am not used to these feelings, Garrus. I have never felt this way since I dedicated my entire life investigating about the Protheans." Liara answered still blushing.

"All right I get it. I am making you uncomfortable. I will stop." Garrus said. "Ow! What was that for?" Garrus shouted immediately looking at Tali.

"That's for teasing her, you idiot." Tali said trying not to smile, although if she smiled no one will realize it.

"Do you have to hit me so hard?" Garrus complained.

"You deserved it." Tali said folding her arms over her chest.

Garrus glared at her and she glared back. Liara saw the tension so she decided to break it. "What about the others? Chief Williams, Lieutenant Alenko and Wrex? Aren't they coming?" Liara asked.

"Alenko isn't coming and Wrex requested to leave him alone. Chief Williams will probably come with Shepard holding his hands…. You know as humans do things like that to show their territory." Garrus shrugged.

"Chief Williams? Really? Who told you that?" Tali asked.

"Tali I think you are blind behind that helmet of yours. How do you….. Ow!" Garrus shouted again as Tali hit him behind his head, again. Liara giggled. "Liara you are having fun at my expense, I see." Garrus said.

"Stop teasing us, Garrus." Tali said.

"You stop hitting me." Garrus shot back.

"First, you stop teasing us." Tali said glaring back at him.

Garrus realized that it was two against one, so he surrendered. "All right. All right. I won't tease again. But Tali really, you never saw how Williams was glaring at Liara when she joined with Shepard and when she was complementing him. She was jealous. I noticed the way she looks at him when he isn't watching." Garrus explained.

"Too bad. I also kind of liked him." Tali confessed.

"What?" Garrus stared at her dumbfounded. Liara's eyes widened at Tali's confession. "Sorry, Liara. It seems we both are beaten by Williams." Tali said.

"No. I don't think so." Liara disagreed softly.

"What? Why? Do you think we still have a chance?" Tali asked. Garrus rolled his eyes.

"No. We don't. Actually we never had and Chief Williams has also no chance of winning his heart." Liara said.

"Why? How can you be so sure?" Garrus asked.

"No woman can win him over because he…." Liara was stopped by Tali.

"No one? How do you know?" Tali asked.

"Remember when I joined my mind with him?" Liara said. They nodded. She continued, "I was trying to make meaning of the vision he received from Shiala. Accidentally, I saw a flash of his memories, just a flash. A blue eyes raven haired human teenage girl. And next second I felt his pain. It was….. Unimaginable. I don't know how he is coping with such pain. It's extraordinary. That's why I admired him then." Liara confessed.

"He has a secret lover?" Tali asked.

"I don't know. But she was just a girl and by human standards, I can tell that she was extremely beautiful. But by joining our consciousness I realized that girl is much more than a simple lover to him." Liara said.

"Wow! Do you think he somehow lost her or she is dead?" Garrus asked.

"Why are you asking this?" Tali frowned.

"Didn't you saw him on Feros, Tali? Just before we were going to save those civilians. He was lost completely. When I told him that I would drive, he never said a word to oppose. He just slumped down in the back seat of the Mako." Garrus said.

"He was crying." Liara said, softly.

Tali's eyes widened in shock under her helmet. Garrus was looking at Liara with his mouth hanging open. "Did you just said that, Commander Shepard was crying?" Garrus asked.

"Yes. He was." Liara said.

"Why? There must be some reason. He was okay just before that." Tali asked.

"I don't know. Only the Commander can explain it." Liara said.

"Liara, as an asari you have the best knowledge about biotics among us. Can a human have biotics without implants?" Tali asked.

"No. I don't think so. Lieutenant Alenko has also L3 implants in his body. So it isn't natural." Liara said.

"Then how did Shepard managed to get biotics? As far I know he has no biotic or any kind of implants in his body." Tali said.

"I have no idea, Tali. The Commander, is a mystery to me." Liara confessed.

"But….." Tali was stopped by Garrus. "What?" She asked him irritated. "Shepard is coming." Garrus said.

"I will ask him about this." Tali said.

"Will that be appropriate, Tali?" Liara asked.

"Why not? We both had friendly talks in the engine room about me and other subjects. He said that I have become his friend. As a friend I can do that." Tali said.

"He visited you too?" Liara asked.

"Yeah. He also visited me, Wrex and Chief Williams." Garrus said leaning back in his seat.

"Well when he first visited me, he talked about whether I was alright. Then he asked about my life and other things. He also said some jokes to lighten me up. At first, I thought that he was attracted to me that's why he was interacting with me so much. I liked him then. I asked him directly whether he likes me or not." Liara said in embarrassment.

"Wow! Then? What did he say?" Tali asked curiously.

"He said that in this short time he has grown to love me…." Liara was stopped by Tali. "What?!"

"Let me finish Tali. He said that he has grown to love me as his sibling. He also said that when he realized my innocence at first he began to care for me as his sister." Liara said.

"He told me that I have become his best friend and brother." Garrus confessed.

"Really? That's…." Tali didn't say anything more as John came near their table.

"Hey, guys." He greeted them and sat down facing Garrus.

"Commander…." John stopped Liara.

"Just John, Liara." He said.

"Right…. Where is Chief Williams and Alicia, John?" Liara asked.

"Ashley has gone to meet her sister. Alicia said that she had some personal matters to take care of. So she went off." John said.

Then they has small talks. They teased each other, laughed together. They just formed a bond and enjoyed each other company, like family members.

"John, you said that I am like a brother to you. Will you answer my questions truthfully?" Garrus asked seriously.

"Anything, Garrus. As long it is not embarrassing." John laughed lightly.

"Why were you crying in the Mako at Feros?" Garrus asked.

John was about to take a sip from his glass but Garrus' question froze him. Then his expression changed completely. "Who told you I was crying? I was just taking some rest." John lied.

"John, I saw you. Please tell us. If you consider us, like your family then tell us." Liara said kindly, taking his hand in hers.

He sighed. "I guess you guys had the right to know." He gave them a sad smile. He then pulled out the locket from his pocket and opened it to show them the two pictures inside it.

"This is the girl I saw in your memories." Liara said. Then she realized what she had done. John looked at her with questioning eyes. "I am sorry. It was never my intention to get into your memories. It was an accident. Really." Liara confessed.

"It's okay, Liara. I trust you." John assured her with a small smile. "I found this on Feros. I don't know how it got there because this was with her the last time I saw her. I was sure that she was on Feros. But that seemed impossible….. But nothing making any sense to me."

Then he started telling them the stories about his childhood about which no one knew except his mother, Dr. Chakwas and _her_. He told them how she met him and eventually fell in love with her and how they got separated. How his mother found him. He told them everything. By the time he was done, he had tears at the corner of his eyes. Tali rubbed away the tears from his eyes. She also had tears in her eyes. Hearing his story her heart ached. Liara now realized why he is in so much pain always. Garrus expression was also sad.

"After all these years you still love her?" Tali asked.

"Yeah because she wasn't just my girlfriend. She…. she was my life… is still my life and everything else. And she will always be so." John confessed.

"You will find her, one day. Your love is pure and deep. Nothing will be prevent both of you in your reunion with her. Mark my words, John." Liara soothed him.

"That's the only thing that has kept me to go on." John said. Liara placed her hand on his shoulder sympathetically. He returned a bittersweet smile at them. They changed the subject and started having small talks among each other. But they didn't notice, a raven haired woman with a pair of beautiful blue eyes was watching John from behind. Since, John's back was turned to her she couldn't see the locket he showed his friends. If she saw, both of their sufferings would have been over. But, fate has something else planned for them.


End file.
